


Influence

by darknessisthelight



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Angry Batman, Angst, Don't touch my baby, Drugs, Edited a lot since then, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Everyone loves Wally, Evil Bad Guy - Freeform, Feels, Founding Members Justice League Fam, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know, M/M, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Sexy Times, Suicide, Wally West is The Flash, Wally Whump, Watchtower Sex, Why do people mess with Batman, batflash, but I like to write about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 01:57:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10687413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darknessisthelight/pseuds/darknessisthelight
Summary: When Wally West finds himself mourning a friend, he has to fight as himself and as the Flash to get to the bottom of why his friend died. With the help of the Justice League, will Wally be able to put to rest the new demons lurking in his city? Or will he find himself the next victim of the newest enemy? Established Batflash, Bruce Wayne/Wally West. Sex in later chapters.TRIGGER WARNING: There is a suicide in this fiction piece. If you find this topic unsettling, there will be marks in the chapter that you can skip past and a summary without triggers of what has been missed.





	1. I'm Falling, Will You Catch Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic!! WOOHOOO! *reads as: I have writer's bloc for my other fics and this is what happened*
> 
> Please be aware of harsh themes in the following fic: suicide, drugs, addiction/withdrawal
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated and fuel my writer's fire ^.^

The Flash had been called on many cases. He’d had numerous calls beeping from his communicator on his side table at midnight, one, or two in the morning calling him to go and save the world. He’d seen destruction and carnage and he’d even had the misfortune to see death in his line of work. In the end the good guys won, he and the League had somehow always managed to save the day.

As Wally West, he hadn’t had as many of those calls. He was a forensic scientist. He usually entered the crime scene long after the body was rolled away, he saw the crime through the camera lens in the crime scene photos. A certain distance was established between him and the death on the other side of the camera, the blood and gore seemed less real. But he knew that he was one of the luckier ones. He knew many officers and detectives that had their experience with death. They saw the murder victim after the crime, they chased the bad guys, and sometimes found themselves casualties of the job. Some were hurt or, in the worst cases, killed in the line of duty.

People handled it better than others.

Some couldn’t handle it at all.

Right now, this two a.m. call was different, because Wally wasn’t being called to save the world. He was being called to save one man.

A friend.

“What’s going on?” Wally asked, he jogged to the line of officers in front of the skyscraper. It was the new construction sight for Lennox Tower, the newest jewel to their city that was supposed to be one of the highest buildings in the country. Wally had seen the images in the press and nightly new coverage, Victor Lennox himself making frequent appearances.

Sergeant Frank O’Neil spotted Wally as he made his way through the police line, one of the uniformed officers letting him into the cordoned off area. “West! Thank God!”

Wally frowned and ran up to the older man, his grey hair tousled and eyes frazzled. Frank grabbed him by the shoulders, “What’s going on, sarge? No one would tell me!”

The sergeant closed his eyes, opening them again with a calmer tone, “You gotta talk some sense into him, Wally. You have to, kid.”

Wally looked around at all the chaos. A helicopter flew circles around the building, the shining light on the steel beams made the shadows dance on the skeletal frame. The thought sent a shiver up Wally’s spine. “Who, Frank?”

O’Neil put his large hand on Wally’s shoulder, eyes shining with sympathy Wally didn’t know he needed. “It’s Hayes, Wally. He’s threatening to jump.”

Wally felt his heart plummet into his stomach. He stumbled back out of the man’s grip, “Hayes? Blake Hayes?” His voice was soft, filled with disbelief, “But I just talked to him tonight as I...as I left the precinct. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know, kid. His partner said he’d been acting real strange since the Edmonson case went south. Going out odd hours, showin’ up late...that young girl—it really got to him.”

Wally remembered. He’d been to that crime scene. One of the most awful things he’d ever seen, no one had been unaffected by the sight. Blonde curls spread out like spilled gold, lifeless hazel eyes surrounded by caked black liner and mascara stared sightless at the wall, and tear streaks marred her porcelain cheeks. Full, pale lips had been stained with red smears and bile from her death. Those eyes though, they would always haunt him. Wally shook himself from the memory, “I remember, Frank. We all do. It wasn’t his fault—” He was cut off by a shout from the line.

“We’ve got him on the phone! He’s demanding to speak to Wally! Where is he?”

Wally bit his impulse to use his speed in running to the phone. He ran up to the shouting officer and grabbed the phone. “I’m here, Blake!”

He heard a shaky laugh on the other end. One he recognized from when Blake would brush off the deep stuff Wally always tried to get him to talk about when they were drunk.

“Hey West, I’m…I’m glad you could make it.”

Wally gripped the phone tighter, his voice frantic, “What are you doing, man?”

“I didn’t think I’d get to say goodbye...” Blake trailed off ignoring the question. Wally’s heart stopped, his stomach churning at the defeat he heard on the other end of the line.

Suddenly a light from the helicopter focused on a spot near the top of the construction site. Most of the building was complete, but the top portion still had exposed sections and standing at the end of a steel beam was Blake.

“Listen, Blake, you have to come down from there. Come down and we can talk about this, we can get you some help—"

“Jane left me.” Wally stopped talking, letting that sink in. He took a deep breath and simply continued trying to reason with the man.

“I’m so sorry, pal. I had no idea things were that bad. You said you guys were having trouble, but you said you were going to talk to that therapist...”

Blake laughed, a broken and hollow sound coming from the man that had always seemed so jubilant. It’s why he and Wally had gotten along so well, they were two peas from the same pod. The cops around the precinct had always joked if Blake had been redhead like Wally, they could have been twins. Wally and Blake loved that, both being orphans, they’d latched onto one another and made a point to prank anyone they deemed worthy of their attentions.

****TRIGGER WARNING****

* * *

 

“Listen, Wally—” Blake’s voice broke Wally from his memories. He looked up at his friend standing on the edge with his hand gripping the closest exposed beam. In his other hand was the phone, his lifeline.

“Wally! Listen to me!”

Wally shook his head, trying to make it all go away. He could hear the finality in Blake’s tone. “No, Blake you listen to me. You need to come down here right now. Please. I need…” Wally swallowed the lump in his throat, “C’mon, pal–” The other officers surrounding him looked away, politely trying to ignore the crack in his voice. Wally could hear the SWAT commander ordering the seizure team to move in when they got the chance. Wally knew if he could keep his friend on the line longer he could save him.

“Wally. Stop talking for one moment and listen!” Wally didn’t want to, his breath hitched in his throat as Blake continued talking. “This is not your fault. You understand me? Not. Your. Fault. I’m tired, tired of pretending that I’m okay, tired of pretending that all of it matters somehow. That what we do makes a difference and anyone gives a damn.” Wally heard Blake’s breath shake and his voice break, “I’ve been losing myself, Wally. Lost time, blackouts, finding myself somewhere I shouldn’t be, drinking more than I should...but I don’t care anymore. I’ve been fighting it for so long, I just can’t do it anymore. I tried.”

Wally looked down at the ground, hand tight on the phone and his other shaking in a fist. His vision blurred, “Blake, I’m so sorry–”

Blake laughed, the sound forced and hollow, “Don’t be. You have no idea how much you helped me. But, now it’s time to stop pretending. I love this city, I love the people, I love my boys in blue. I don’t have the strength to keep moving forward and all it’s gonna do is drag everyone down with me. It’ll drag _you_ down with me, because I know you’d fight. It’s _what you do_ , Wally.”

Wally felt the tears fall, he could see others wiping their own faces as they listened through the speakers and headphones tapped into the phone line. “Why are you doing this now? Why here?”

Blake let out another hollow laugh, “Consider it my final contribution to the good of man. Victor Lennox is a bastard, we all know it and this building is a monument to a monster. A monster that _murdered_ a child! He stuffed her full of drugs, used her, and then left her to die like garbage!” Blake screamed, the sound of his broken voice made Wally’s blood freeze.

He knew Lennox was dirty, he was up there with Luthor when it came to corrupt business deals he just hadn’t ventured into the super-villain realm.

That they knew about.

“Listen, Blake. There’s a right way to get this guy–”

“He won’t get caught, and even if he does he’ll never be convicted.” There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. “I know they’re recording this conversation. In the state of Missouri a dying declaration is sufficient evidence to open an investigation or present as evidence at trial. This is mine: It’s all his fault. Victor Lennox murdered Livie Edmonson. I know it, in my gut, I know he’s guilty. The evidence exists, I know it! You have to find it.” Blake chuckled, more to himself than anyone else. “Two birds, one jump.”

“Blake—”

“No, Wally–” Blake cut him off, “I’ve made up my mind. No more games, no more fake laughter, no more fake anything. I know they’ve got SWAT on their way, but I shut down the elevator and sealed the door.” Wally could hear shouting from over in the SWAT tent, the team had just come up against the door, but they were still ten floors away. “Call ‘em off. They won’t make it.”

Wally looked at the SWAT leader, the man looking at him and shaking his head. They wouldn’t make it, just like Blake said.

Clouds rolled in above the city and a crackle of thunder echoed in the distance. He looked back up at the spotlight, feet twitching. He knew he could make it up the side of the building as Flash, he’d just have to go “make a phone call” and he’d be—

“And don’t do what you’re thinking either. It won’t work.” Wally ignored the quizzical glances from the others listening. Thunder rolled and rains sprinkled from the clouds, dotting the pavement he so wanted to use as his runway. Blake knew he was the Flash, he had known for years. Blake starting putting the puzzle pieces together himself and Wally had caved and told him, but he had always trusted him implicitly. It had been a relief to be able to talk to Blake about everything. He just wished Blake had felt the same.

“Besides, I brought a failsafe.”

Wally saw Blake’s other hand move from the beam to his hip, then into the light, the glint of a gun catching the spotlight. Wally couldn’t breathe, he moved unconsciously into the rain, the shouts around him that Blake had a gun were muffled by the ringing in his ears.

“Goodbye, Wally.”

Wally shook his head, “No, no no no…” He whispered over and over again, water dripping down his face and falling harder as the sky rumbled and barked with anger. The gun moved in the light, Blake still talking on the line, “My brother, keep saving the world. It needs you...now more than ever.”

Wally heard the line cut out. He ran towards the building, “Blake no—!” The loud crack of a gun stopped him in his tracks, his hands grabbing his stomach in pain. The gunshot echoed through the air and was followed by thunder, lightning lighting a body as it fell forty stories. People were screaming, shouting, moving all at once, but Wally didn’t care. He felt arms grab him, but he tore himself from them.

“West!” Frank had him in a lock with his arms wrapped in his, “Wally! Stop, kid!” Wally’s chest caved with a sob, tears freely falling down his cheeks and blending with the rain. He ripped away, moving to the large rescue trampoline that had been put at the bottom of the building. There was a group of firefighters surrounding the area, a few cops and other first responders watched on as the paramedics moved Blake’s lifeless body from the dark surface. Wally shuffled forward through the fog, faintly hearing someone say Blake’s name over and over until he realized he was the one saying it. He made it to the body, hands roaming the bloodied body of his friend as though he would wake up and this would all be an elaborate prank. A nightmare.

Someone called his name and a few officers pulled him back so the paramedics and coroner could put Blake’s body on a stretcher. He struggled for a moment, but realized what he was doing and went limp in the officer's arms. He watched as they rolled him away, Blake’s eyes open and lifeless staring straight into his before a gloved hand zipped the bag shut and he was gone.

* * *

 

****SAFE NOW****

Wally crumbled to the ground, legs giving way underneath him. The tears were still falling, but his sobs had stopped. The doors shuts, blue and red lights flashing against the rain as the sky opened and it poured. Thunder cracked and lightning shaped the shadows of the men and women running in the storm. The ambulance moved and the siren screamed, Wally’s chest tore in two as he silently watch his friend, his brother, taken away and he’d never be coming back.

***

Wally stared at the black bag on the table, still zipped shut. He’d stopped crying, he didn’t know when he’d stopped, but his eyes were dry and bloodshot. Frank had wrapped him up in a blanket and offered to take him home, but Wally had told him to bring him to the morgue. The sergeant had tried to argue, but Wally wouldn’t budge so Frank had begrudgingly taken him to the County Hospital.

Where he stared at the body bag.

The medical examiner knew Wally, Glen Hammond had been the assistant medical examiner when Wally had been a boy tagging along with his uncle on Father-Son work days. Hammond left him alone to go see to another body that had arrived so Wally could take a moment before he had to officially identify the body, and establish Blake’s wishes for burial following. It all had to be taken care of before Dr. Hammond made the first cut for autopsy.

The white label caught the speedster’s eye, the white and sterile card listing: _Hayes, Blake Ulysses,_ as the occupant.

The door opened on the other side of the room, he looked up and wasn’t surprised at who he saw. He looked back at the label, “I should have known you’d know before I called you.”

The man made his way to stand next to the redhead, his blue eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, and dark hair covered by a baseball cap. He was dressed in jeans, a button down, and a worn leather jacket, disguising himself so the media wouldn’t be alerted that Bruce Wayne was in Central City the same night a police officer killed himself and plummeted off a forty story building.

“Wally,” Bruce’s hand settled on the redhead’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m sorry. He was a good man.” Bruce stared at Wally, noting the dull look in those bloodshot eyes. It was a rare day when Wally’s eyes lacked their spark, and seeing it now worried him.

“Thank you.” Wally leaned into Bruce’s touch, soaking up the comfort he knew Bruce was trying so hard to give. “I don’t know how you knew, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“You’re his next of kin.” Wally nodded. The door squeaked open behind them, Wally and Bruce glanced back as the medical examiner walked into the stale room looking down at a clipboard of forms.

“Alright, Wally, sorry that took so long. Another overdose on the southside by the river.” The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose and shook his head, “Messy stuff, the sooner we find that nasty drug, the better.” He rotated his clipboards and flipped through a couple pages, marking a few things before continuing, “Okay, you’re listed as medical proxy for the deceased, and I know this is difficult, but once we get this done we can move onto doing the autopsy and releasing the body to you.” He stopped closer to the table and looked up, noticing for the first time the second person. The doctor glanced at Bruce, but Bruce simply took a step closer to Wally, letting him know that he wasn’t about to leave the man alone.

“Very well. Let us proceed.” Reaching with both hands, he unzipped the black back to reveal Blake’s pale face. His eyes had been shut sometime between the crime scene and the morgue, and some of the excess blood and gore had been cleaned away to make identification easier, but there was still a clear, dime sized circle on the blonde’s right temple.

Wally took a breath, a shallow, quick burst of air that only seemed to leave him breathless. He nodded, eyes glued to the hole in the side of his friend’s head, “That’s Detective Blake Hayes.”

“Are you sure?” The medical examiner asked, he jotted a few things on his notepad, missing Bruce’s glare and menacing step forward. Wally put a hand on Bruce’s chest to stop him from going into Batman-mode on the M.E.

“Yes, that is Detective Blake Hayes.” Hammond looked up from his pad and zipped the dead man back into his black, plastic coffin. “Thank you, Mr. West.” He paused, looking up at Wally his eyes softened when he saw the dark circles under the man’s eyes, “For what it’s worth, I am truly sorry for your loss. Hayes was a good guy and a solid detective, he’ll be missed.”

Wally nodded, grasping his left elbow with his right hand, as though he could hold himself together for just a little bit longer.

Hammond set his notes on the table and signed a slip, sealing it in a plastic bag with a few items inside and putting it in a drop box labeled _Crime Lab_. Wally knew where that went, he’d pulled many evidence bags out of there himself. The doctor cleared his throat and pushed his glasses further up his crooked nose, “You’ll be notified when we can release the body, it should take seventy-two to ninety-six hours to process everything.”

“Thank you, Glen. Take care of him.”

Glen smiled, a sad smile, “It’s never easy when it’s a colleague on the table. I’ll take good care of him, Wally. He deserves nothing less. You taking a few days?” Wally nodded and stepped closer to Bruce, a solid arm wrapping instinctively around his waist. Glen nodded and looked at Bruce, “You watch out for Wally. He’s important to a lot of people around here.”

Bruce hesitated for a moment, seeing for the first time, some mix of admiration and affection in the small, wispy man’s stare. Deciding not to throttle him, he simply hugged Wally tighter and nodded before leading Wally from the cold room.

Wally made one final glance at the black bag as the door closed behind them. The door clicked and Bruce tugged him along so they could continue down the corridor. Wally leaned into Bruce’s warmth as they walked out into the rainy night, the thunder had stopped, but Wally could still hear the echoes of a crack against the blanket of rain, as though the lightning had never gone away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Summary if you skipped***  
> Detective Blake Hayes works at CCPD, after a particularly tragic case he begins to show signs of PTSD. Wally tries to talk his friend of the ledge, but in the chaos, Blake manages to tell Wally he's been having nightmares, blackouts, and trouble in his personal life. In this way, Hayes hopes to force an investigation into a dirty, businessman, Victor Lennox using the dying declaration clause in Missouri state law. He dies, and Wally is left to investigate his death.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	2. Revealing

A few hours passed and Wally and Bruce were lying comfortably in the king-sized bed in their bedroom. Bruce didn’t know when the “his” changed to “their” but he thought of it as such all the same. Wally had slowly left an impression throughout the otherwise luxuriously, dull bedroom–a red robe hung next to a black one in the master closet, a comfy throw blanket haphazardly thrown on the end of the bed, a few jars of runner’s balms on the bathroom counter, the occasional Archie comic, sci-fi novel, or fantasy book on the night stand. Bruce smiled at the thought, Wally was here even when he was everywhere else.

Wally had drifted off into a fitful sleep not long after Bruce woke him up long enough so he could eat all the food Alfred had laid out on the desk for him. Wally had relented only when Bruce agreed to eat one of the sandwiches. By the time he’d finished his sandwich, Wally had devoured the rest of the food. Wally hadn’t eaten in a while and on top of the emotional trauma, Bruce knew Wally would go into shock if he didn’t take care of his high metabolism. Wally grumbled, but admitted he felt better.

Bruce had snuck out as soon as the first snore left Wally’s lips, checking in with Dick and Tim. Alfred had quickly jumped in and told the boys the situation, prompting the two Bats to tell Bruce to go to bed. 

He felt Wally vibrate in his arms, he glanced at the clock next to him. Surprisingly, they’d been asleep for a solid six hours. Bruce took a deep breath and turned back to the man on his chest, burying his nose and mouth in the tousled red hair. He felt Wally buzz again and kissed his head. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence when they slept together, both sexually and not, but Bruce was hyper-vigilant at the moment to every nuance. He held Wally closer to him, the speedster responding with a purr. Bruce couldn’t help but marvel at the complete faith and trust Wally had in him. It was almost a perfect contrast, Wally’s innocent face against his broad, muscled chest littered with scars. It still amazed him that Wally would let his guard down so completely after everything...Wally loved him. He knew that, Wally had been the first to say it.

Bruce hadn’t told his lover yet. He’d wanted to, he knew what he felt for Wally moved beyond anything he’d felt for anyone else. Wally ranked just as high as any of his Bats, but he hadn’t been able to do it.

_ “It’s okay,” Wally said, he smiled and kissed Bruce softly, “I know you love me, and when you’re ready you can tell me.” The redhead snickered and winked, “I won’t even tell anyone, promise.” _

Bruce had devoured Wally that night like no other night before it. The understanding Wally had for him and all his baggage made him realize he needed to return that strength Wally so willingly offered him. Fast, or he was going to find himself without moments like these. 

Bruce sighed and brushed his hand over Wally’s hair, it might have to go on the back burner for a bit while Wally adjusted to his friend’s death.

Wally stirred, snuggling into Bruce’s warmth. He blinked open his green eyes, turned his face towards his lover, and noticed the small smile. “Mornin’...” He grumbled.

Bruce kissed his dry lips and sighed, “Hi.”

Wally lifted his hand and brushed his finger on the smile on Bruce’s lips, “What are you thinking about?”

Bruce nipped at the finger, unable to resist teasing this man in his arms. He was relieved to see some of the previous sparkle return in Wally’s green eyes, “I was thinking about you.”

Wally smiled, propping himself up on one elbow and gently kissed Bruce on the lips again, “That’s nice.” He continued to stare into Bruce’s piercing blue eyes, but looked away when he felt the tightness in his chest crawl it’s way into his throat.

Bruce noticed the change and reached for him, “Wally—” 

Bruce captured the redhead between his muscled arms and loomed over him, blue eyes searching Wally’s as the sparkle dimmed from them. Wally gripped the sheets in a vice with one hand and brushed the other up Bruce’s arm. Bruce shuddered, the feather light touch going straight to his groin. He closed his eyes against the pleasure on opened then to see Wally reaching for his twitching cock. He grabbed the hand. “Wally. Talk.”

Wally sighed, dropping his hand to his side, “What’s there to talk about?”

Bruce frowned, dropping so his chest was on Wally’s, effectively embracing and trapping the man from going anywhere. “Don’t do that?”

Wally looked at Bruce on his chest, “What?”

“Don’t turn me back on me.”

Wally scoffed, “What does that even mean, Bruce?”

Bruce moved up, hands going on either side of Wally’s face so he’d look at him. “Don’t shut me out like I shut out the world.”

“How is that fair?” Wally felt his eyes burn, but he gripped the sheets tighter in his hand.

Bruce saw the motion and untangled the hand from the silky sheets, lifting it to his lips and kissing every finger until Wally’s body relaxed and his chest purred. Bruce kissed the inside of Wally’s wrist, “It’s not. But I’m trying.” He paused, still clinging to Wally, “You taught me that.”

“Ugh,” Wally groaned, hand dropping to Bruce’s arm as they lay tangled in the sheets. “Why did I have to make you want to talk about feelings?”

Bruce smiled, eyes sparkling as his chin rested on Wally’s chest, “Because you love me.”

Wally brushed his hand through Bruce’s dark hair, “I do.” He sighed, “Lord help me, but I love you, Bruce.”

“Now, talk.” Bruce held Wally’s hand, “Please.”

Wally sighed and looked up at the ceiling, his body buzzing with energy, “I’m sad, Blake died and there was nothing I could do but stand there like everybody else. I should have just said ‘screw it’ and ran up the side of the building.”

Bruce frowned, moving up to lean against the headboard, “But then where would you be?”

“I don’t know, but Blake would be alive.”

“But you’d be outed at the Flash.”

Wally growled and sat up, hand rubbing his eyes, “But is that so bad? When I could have just saved him?”

“He wasn’t happy.” Bruce said matter-of-fact, if it was any other time, Wally would have forgotten what they were talking about. 

“It doesn’t matter, Blake is gone.” Wally paused, “And I’m angry.”

Bruce looked at his lover, concern growing, “Angry.”

Wally turned towards Bruce and crawled up by him on the bed, “I’m angry.”

“At what?”

Wally growled, “I’m angry that Blake is dead, that he didn’t talk to me. I’m angry that no one saw it and that  _ I _ didn’t see the problem until it was too late. But most of all,” Wally’s eyes looked directly into Bruce’s and they were hard, the fury there palpable, “I’m going to take down the man responsible–”

“Who is–?” Whatever Bruce had been about to say was cut off by distinct beeping from the bedside table. Both their comms were flashing, alerting them of an incoming message. Bruce wanted to tell Wally to ignore it, but Wally was already grabbing his earpiece.

Both of them grabbed their respective comms, Wally’s distinct because he’d put a small lightning bolt on it. Bruce had rolled his eyes when he’d seen it the first time, but in moments like these he was a little grateful. He’d didn’t think anyone would notice if they accidentally switched, but seeing as their relationship was still a secret from everyone outside his family, he wasn’t about to chance it.

“What.”

“Batman, are you detained?” J’onn’s timbre sounded on the other end of the line.

Bruce quirked a brow and grabbed his phone next to the bed and looked at the time.  _ Damn it. _ He thought, out loud he said, “On my way.” He turned off the communicator and rushed down to the Batcave to change into his suit.

Flash wanted to jump for joy when he heard the tone coming from their communicators. He wanted to talk, but he wasn’t sure he knew what to say. Or what he was feeling about everything. He picked up his comm from the table while Bruce had grabbed his, “Yah? Flash here.”

“Hey hotshot, you’re late again.” Green Lantern’s stern voice came through his comm. He looked over and saw Bruce glower at his phone. He suddenly realized what he was late to. “Oh shit!” Bruce practically ran out of the bedroom. It would have been funny if they weren’t so late.

“Right, well, what can I say? Slept in. Be there in a flash!”

He heard a groan on the other end, a small grin on his face as he ran after Bruce, grabbing one of the spare uniform rings he left at the Manor for just such occasions. He might be the fastest man alive, but punctuality had nothing to do with speed. He was always late, it’s just who he was as a person.

Wally slid to a stop on the cavern floor just as Bruce emerged from behind a white privacy screen. Wally spun into his own costume and shook his head, “How could you have possibly gotten dressed faster than me?”

Bruce, now Batman, smirked, grabbed Wally’s masked face and planted a quick kiss on his waiting lips. “I’m Batman.”

Wally rolled his eyes behind his white lenses, knowing full well that Bruce saw him do it. “You can’t fool me Bruce, I’ve seen you naked.”

Bruce raised his brow, a small spark of arousal in those blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed Wally again, this time tracing his tongue along the speedster’s bottom lip. Wally moaned, wanting nothing more than to drag Bruce behind that screen and do things to him. Bruce was in the same boat.

“Careful,” Bruce mumbled, “I’m willing to tell Clark to shove it up his ass for a little shoving up yours.” Wally felt his cheeks flush, it wasn’t the most eloquent or romantic thing Bruce had ever said to him, but there was something about their chemistry that made just about anything Bruce said with any kind of innuendo or sexual provocation that made Wally’s dick hard. Bruce growled and leaned down to nip Wally’s earlobe, and Wally let him, those rough, gauntleted hands going to his tight ass, lifting him tighter to Bruce’s arousal.

“I want you, Bruce…” Wally sighed and caught Bruce’s mouth with his teeth, smiling when he heard a purr from Bruce when their tongues collided. Wally had a small enough moment of clarity to push away from Bruce, the older man looking at him with dark, hooded eyes, clouded with lust. His own cheeks were heated and eyes bright, but they had a job to do. 

Wally pushed away so he could adjust his cowl and pants. He paused, smile faltering a little, “Listen, about...everything—”

“Wally—”

“Bruce. I’m fine.”

Bruce actually snorted in disbelief. Wally sighed, “Okay, okay, but for right now, I’m going to do my job. Okay?”

Bruce stared at him, debating whether or not he thought Wally should tag along. He’d tried benching him once before at the beginning of their sexual relationship. At the time they’d just been sleeping together, Bruce having every intention of breaking it off after a couple months–but here they were almost a year later. Benching Wally had been a bad idea, idle hands on a speedster were dangerous at the best of times. But now, with his emotions as they were, it could be devastating. Not something Bruce wanted to see again. It was better to keep him busy, and within eyesight. Bruce sighed and dropped his shoulders, “Fine. But you say the word and we leave. No reasons, no questions.”

Wally felt his shoulders relax. He didn’t want to be alone right now and Bruce knew that. He’d always found comfort with others rather than facing his problems alone. He’d been a part of a duo too long not know what he had missed going solo those couple years between being Kid Flash and the League. Bruce, however was a solitary person, even when he had a partner. Wally still had a hard time knowing when to give the man his space just as Bruce had a hard time knowing when to be there, but they were working on it. Just the fact that Bruce hadn’t argued with him when he’d said he was fine was evidence of progress.

Wally plastered his trademark grin on his face, ready to tackle the world. “Thanks,” Bruce nodded, but Wally kept smiling. Blake’s words from the night before rattled around in his head, but Wally simply readjusted his cowl and ignored it, focused on the small task so he could settle his breathing. He put his hands on his hips and looked at the exit from the cavern, “I’ll run a few miles away so they don’t know we’re coming from the same place. Wouldn’t want to spoil anything.” He laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Bruce knew it still bothered him that they hadn’t told the other founding members, “It doesn’t matter—”

“Really, Bruce, it’s fine. I’ll just go a few miles that way and—” Wally stopped when he felt Bruce grab his wrist, Bruce’s face set.

“Stay.”

Wally’s eyes widened, “You’re sure?”

Bruce pulled him close again and kissed him deeply, flaring the sexual heat he always had for the man just under his skin, “Yes. I’m sure.” 

Bruce clicked his comm on, his face slipping immediately into his usual Batman expression, while Wally stepped from his embrace and waited. Batman gave Flash a nod, “Batman and Flash ready for transport.”

J’onn spoke through the comm. “Understood.”

The cave disappeared and the two heroes arrived on the Watchtower in two beams of light. A few heroes in the main deck area around the transporter pads glanced up as they appeared, but no one said anything about their joint arrival. Wally dashed off the oval and smiled, greeting those around him. Everyone smiled and waved back until they saw Batman not far behind him, then they’d freeze or look away as fast as they could.

_ Even after everything he went through last night, he still makes time for everyone. _ Bruce thought, he continued down the ramp and across the deck. Wally cared, he said hello, called them by name, and almost always asked about them personally. He apologized for not staying longer because they were headed to a meeting, but at the same time he promised he’d be back to chat later. Bruce used to think it was all a way for Wally to get attention. When he’d first met him as a sidekick all those years ago, and Kid Flash had become friends with Robin, he’d thought surely his adopted son would find the kid annoying. It had taken him years to understand why Dick kept him around, but once he’d gotten to work with him, it hadn’t taken longer than a week for Bruce to see why Dick held Wally in such high esteem. It was Wally’s way of running straight into people’s hearts. He showed them all how much he cared about each of them.

Batman made it into the elevator long before Flash did. He typed in the code on the pin pad to the private conference room, founding members the only ones allowed in there.

Wally slipped into the car right as the doors started to close and waited until they shut all the way before he frowned at Batman. “You could have waited for me.”

Bruce smirked. 

Wally sighed, turned back to the steel doors, and waited for the elevator car to move. It seemed to take longer than usual, the silence growing thicker as he occasionally glanced at Bruce, noticing the Dark Knight’s lips twitched ever so slightly. After the third time he spoke, “I’m not going to fall apart, Br-Bats.” He said, catching himself. Batman noticed Wally’s near slip, but kept himself from smiling. “I never said you were.”

“Then stop staring at me like I’m going to.” Batman didn’t look at Wally while the elevator continued upward, his expression void of anything. Wally groaned and leaned by the elevator buttons. He hit the emergency stop button, the car coming to a jarring halt between floors. 

The lights went out on the car and Bruce glared at Flash, the speedster quickly reminding himself why he hit the button in the first place. “I don’t want to go into that room with a mind reader, a trained interrogator, and the man with the most sensitive senses around while you’re standing there looking like A: you’re pissed at me, or B) you think I’m going to crumble into some blubbering mess.” 

Bruce stood silently, listening to Wally rattle on, Wally ignoring him at this point so he could get it all said. 

“Everyone will just assume you hate me, or that I did something and then the meeting will really be everyone trying to figure out what I did today and I don’t want that. I want things to be…” He stumbled over his words, not really knowing how to phrase it, “...well, normal. I want them to think I’m a dunce with a penchant for puns, and you’re tall, dark and brooding with a penchant for punching people. Is that too much to ask?”

Bruce sighed, Wally was trying hard to be himself and Bruce couldn’t fault him for it. He buried himself in his work in similar instances, his glass house didn’t have any walls so he couldn’t exactly throw stones. 

“I promise,” Flash insisted, his voice quiet, “If that changes, you’ll be the first to know. But right now I need things to be as normal as possible for a little bit. Okay?”

Bruce wanted to argue, but e didn’t have anything to argue with. Wally crossed his arms and waited for the rebuttal, Bruce looked back at the doors and frowned. He hit the emergency stop and the elevator flared back to life, moving again towards the top floor.

Wally felt a light bulb flare over his head, “Is there something you know that I don’t?”

“No.” Bruce said it in a whisper, Wally waited for him to elaborate, but the doors opened.

Wally’s eyes widened as they stood in the elevator, both staring at one another. He saw Bruce’s eyes flicker with concern a moment before he turned on his heel and marched out the doors without a word. Wally followed behind and muttered, “And that bothers you.”

Bruce didn’t answer him, instead he remained stone-faced as they walked closer to the conference room, Wally wanted to shake him out of the Batman mindset, but he knew he shouldn’t. That he couldn’t. If he wanted to, he could try, but he knew that look. Something was bothering Batman and even the Dark Knight himself didn’t know what it was.

Wally was still frowning when they made it to the door and Bruce put his hand on the biometric scanner to gain entry into the room. Flash quickly slapped his grin on his face and ran inside, finding the other five members: Superman, Wonder Woman, Shayera, Green Lantern, and J’onn all standing around the room, casually chatting.

“Did you get lost?” Superman asked his face set in that paternal look he usually reserved for Flash.

Wally smiled, turning up the charm as he dashed next to the man of steel, “Aw c’mon Supes. Don’t be too hard on the guy! He’s not used to operating in the sunshine.” Superman still had that stern look in his eyes, but it was obvious he was holding back a laugh. It didn’t take much for Flash to make Superman forget about being mad. He had that effect on most people.

Green Lantern rolled his eyes at the youngest hero’s joke and slapped him on the back, taking his seat at the conference table. The others grinned as well and took their seats at the large, circular table. Green Lantern looked at Batman as he sat down, “Flash being late is a given, but you’re usually right on time Batman.”

“Hey, c’mon John!” Wally whined, pouting as he propped his feet on the tabletop.

Green Lantern just chuckled, “It’s true and you know it, kid.”

Superman cleared his throat from the other end of the table, “We should probably get started with the meeting. Some of us have Monitor Duty later on.”

Bruce had to keep from smiling at the over exaggerated groan from Wally’s chair. Ever since they’d started sleeping together, Bruce had been shocked to realize that most of the annoying things that Flash did were all a part of Wally’s act as the Flash. In private, though still hyperactive, Wally internalized a lot of his thought process and acted closer to Bruce’s maturity level than Dick’s. His son had always told him Wally would slip into “dad-mode” when they lived on Titans Tower for the short time they did and Bruce had never believed him. Now he knew exactly what Dick was talking about, so seeing Flash play up the childish pouting and whining was an exercise in self-control. He wanted to smile and laugh, but he knew the others would toss him in Arkham faster than Flash would ever be able to explain why he was expressing anything other than indifference. Another whine brought him back into the conference room, the aforementioned speedster quickly sunk in his chair and pouted his lip.

Shayera smirked at him, not an ounce of sympathy in her gaze, “Stop whining, we all do it.”

Wally slumped further in his chair, “Yeah, but it’s so boring.”

Bruce cleared his throat, Wally instantly sitting up and looking at him. The others did the same. 

“J’onn.” Bruce kept his face the stone-like mask he usually wore, Superman blinked and nodded, “Right..” He mumbled, “J’onn, you have the floor.” 

J’onn nodded and rose from his chair, highlighting events and facts from the recent activity of the League. Every three months, the founding members had this meeting to discuss League business. They always started with J’onn giving a general report on operations including major achievements, battle/mission outcomes, and any disciplinary actions that had to be taken and/or voted on for any members. Anyone that had applied for membership was also reviewed in these meetings and votes took place, training assignments were given, and then they would move onto any major problems. Most of these involved villains like Luthor, Grodd, the League of Doom, occasionally the Joker, and etc. Any major movements or plans being carried out were brought to attention discussed.

Once J’onn was finished, Superman spoke about a few strategies that he thought would help in training new recruits and other stuff Flash had long ago stopped listening to. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure what all J’onn had said either, he had trouble concentrating in these meetings under normal circumstances, but the events of the previous day flooded his mind like instant replay and he found himself staring at the wall, someone saying his name repeatedly.

“Hey, Flash!”

Shaking his head, he saw Shayera waving her hand in front of his face next to him.

“Huh?” Looking around he saw that the other members were staring at him. “Oh! Sorry.” He forced a laugh, Bats’ eyes narrowing at the sound, he cleared his throat and blushed. “Sorry. I’m a little tired, that’s all.”

“I thought you said you slept in.” Wonder Woman spoke up from her chair next to Shayera, the full force of her blue eyes directed at him. The others were gradually starting to pick up that something was off.

“Yeah, I did! I guess I got too much sleep then.” Again he tried to laugh it off but by this point the rest of them, including Batman, were giving him funny looks.  _ Traitor,  _ he though. He glared at Bruce for less than a moment before looking around at the rest of them.

“Listen, it’s fine. I had a late night last night. I really am tired. Can we please just get back to the...whatever Superman was talking about? You were saying, Supes?”

Superman looked at Flash for a moment before deciding to address the younger man’s behavior after they were done. “As I was saying, we have reports that Lex Luthor is transporting and collecting large amounts of Kryptonite through an outside supplier. We don’t know what he’s doing with it, and Kryptonite may not be an illegal substance, but it can still cause a lot of damage to people other than me.”

Wally frowned. The thought of anyone trying to collect any amount of kryptonite worried him. In small amounts, kryptonite wasn’t deadly to humans, it was to Superman, but in large enough quantities it could cause some real problems. Luthor himself had learned that the hard way.

“What could Luthor possibly want with all of that stuff, other than to kill you?” Shayera asked, voicing what everyone was thinking. “I mean, he got cancer from it right? Why would he risk it?”

“His paperwork filed with the state says it’s under his research and development department. ” Batman said. He tapped a few buttons on the conference table, a large screen popping up from the center of the round table. Wally never could quite get over how awesome the tech in the Watchtower was.

“Over the years, a few large sources of kryptonite have been found and used in various forms of R&D projects around the world, the most recent in a facility outside of Kiev as a source of energy alternative to nuclear power. Luthor has managed to assemble a team under the premise of researching the same properties, but the main grant is for medical and disease research.”

“Medical research?” Green Lantern leaned forward on the tabletop to look over at Batman, “What kind of medical research could he be doing?”

Bruce brought up a few images on the screen, Luthor smiling and waving at the camera next to a group of doctors in lab coats. “The grant is filed as a research venture into the health benefits of kryptonite as a possible alternative to chemotherapy. He claims he’s researching the cancer he had from exposure to kryptonite and he also claims he used kryptonite exposure instead of usual radiation therapy to clear his cancer.”

Wally’s eyes widened, “What?” He sat straight in his chair, hands vibrating in agitation, “That bastard is seriously going to pretend he wasn’t cured by Brainiac and then had the rest of it beat out of him when I destroyed Brainiac?”

Bruce frowned, “Yes.”

Wally scoffed, “Whatever,” He plopped back in his seat, “No one will believe him.”

“It doesn’t matter, he has people in the field backing his claims. I don’t have sufficient proof that it’s not what he’s doing and the only evidence we have that Brainiac did cure him of his cancer is his discovery during his delirious transformation into half man-half android. If he’s left any paper trail, it’s well hidden. Old habits die hard, however, so I doubt he’s as interested in the medicinal properties of the mineral as he would have everybody believe.” Batman brought up another report on the screen, lists of numbers and companies trailing the sale and purchase of the quantities of Kryptonite. “I managed to follow the money, and each trail leads to one company, Olex Mining.” He clicked onto the following slide, a report on Olex Mining and next to it was a picture of a well-dressed man, arms crossed in the typical multi-million dollar businessman pose. His brown hair was perfectly gelled back on his head, his perfect smile unnaturally white, and his complexion sun-kissed. But his eyes, the cold, grey eyes that stared out from the screen, made Wally’s blood boil. No one seemed to notice Wally tense in his seat.

Bruce was staring at the screen so he didn’t see the dramatic change in Wally, “Olex Mining Corporation is a small mining operation that has grown ten times larger than it was three years ago when it came under new ownership. It’s buried deep in dummy corporations, but Ogai Industries is the parent company.”

“Who’s that?” Superman asked, nodding at the man on the screen.

“Victor Lennox.” 

Everyone turned towards Flash, the venom in his voice startling.

“Victor Lennox Central City’s own coming Lex Luthor,” Wally spat, “He’s relatively new to the business market, but he’s managed to gain support from multiple avenues: criminals, politicians, law enforcement, and local and major businesses. There’s a file on him at least two inches thick in my desk, and that’s as a civilian employee.” Wally felt his throat tighten, eyes glued to the images on the screen, “His crowning jewel is one of the tallest buildings in the world, currently under construction in downtown Central,” Wally shot out of his seat, his whole body vibrating. Everyone stopped, surprised at the look of anger and hatred on Wally’s face. Even Bruce looked taken aback, his brows drew together in worry as he saw Wally start to shiver. A sudden realization dawned on him.

“Lennox Tower.”

Wally rolled his eyes, his anger growing, “Oh don’t act like you didn’t have Dick get you the files from CCPD.”

Now it was everyone else’s turn to look shocked at Batman, Wally was basically yelling at him and Batman’s voice had gone softer than his usual gravel timbre. Wally didn’t notice, he just kept clenching and unclenching his jaw, his entire body shook, fists tight at his sides.

“I didn’t look at them, yet.” Bruce spoke slowly and calmly, trying to break Wally out of his manic state, and took a step towards him.

Wally tensed, “Bruce, don’t.”

_ Bruce?!  _ Everyone thought, disbelief registering on all their faces.

Bruce and Wally were oblivious to the room. Batman kept moving towards Wally, hands up in a relenting gesture.

“Wally.” He spoke slowly, eyes glued on the blurring form so he missed Superman’s jaw drop, “Remember what you promised?” Wally frowned, he wanted to ignore what he’d said, but he knew Bruce wouldn’t let him. But he couldn’t just ignore this either. 

Bruce kept walking forward, “We can go. Right now, it doesn’t matter. You are clearly still upset—”

Wally’s eyes widened, his body going completely still for a moment before tearing off his cowl. The remaining founders sat there not quite sure what to do, or what they were witnessing. Shock and awe overwhelmed them, jaws open and heads turning from one man to the other as the scene unfolded. 

“ _ Upset _ ?!” Wally’s face flushed, “You’ve clearly put two and two together, now tell me exactly how I’m supposed to be feeling right now.”

Bruce dropped his hands, now on the same side of the table as the angry speedster. “Angry.”

Wally crossed his arms, and nodded, “You’re damn right.” He stopped, realizing just how angry he was getting. He took a breath and closed his eyes tightly as he focused on calming his frantic heartbeat. Eyes still shut, he heard the soft footsteps from Bruce’s boots as the usually silent man moved closer. He opened his eyes, a little surprised to find Batman barely a foot away. He stumbled back; trying to catch his breath, the pain from last night returning, and his eyes filled with tears.

Yanking his cowl back over his head, Wally moved to leave, but before he could, Batman grabbed his wrist, loose enough that if he wanted to he could wrench free, but tight enough to let him know Bruce wanted him to stay. “Bruce not here, I—”

Diana and Shayera shared a look, a sudden awareness hit the group. Shayera leaned over and whispered in Diana’s ear, “Could it be that…?”

Diana nodded, “We were just joking, but it all makes sense…if you really think about it…”

John, Superman, and J’onn just looked at one another and shrugged, waiting for someone to explain what the hell was going on.

Bruce ignored all of them, his only focus on Wally who was falling apart and desperately trying not to.

“Wally, when will you understand that I don’t give a fuck about that anymore?” Wally had a second to register just what Bruce had said before he found himself wrapped in Bruce’s strong arms, his face buried in his armored chest. “That doesn’t matter. You do.”

Everyone stopped breathing. Superman’s face turned beet red. J’onn looked on, certain things now making more sense in hindsight. John’s mouth fell open in disbelief, then settled into a smirk seeing his buddy wrapped in Batman’s arms. Batman wasn’t one for empty gestures. Shayera and Diana looked at one another before they both bit back the urge to squeal.  _ They HAD been right! _ They thought simultaneously, silently high-fiving.

Wally let out a shaky sigh he didn’t know he’d been holding, no one was yelling or screaming and Bruce was holding him in front of their closest friends. It wasn’t exactly how he wanted to tell the rest of the founders about he and Bruce’s relationship, but he wasn’t really concerned about that right now. Right now he was trying not to lose what little grip he had on his control.

Taking a deep breath, Wally unwrapped his arms from around Bruce’s waist and glanced briefly up at him before turning to face everyone.

Shayera was grinning from ear-to-ear, Wonder Woman beside her smirking. “So...”

“Something you two want to share with the class?” John asked, he too was grinning.

Beside him, Superman was still staring at them in shock, “How could I have missed that?” J’onn merely smiled at the Kryptonian, patting the bewildered man on the shoulder. “It is rather unexpected, friend.”

Bruce watched all of them, eyes narrowed, daring them to say something against their relationship. He wrapped a protective hand around Wally’s waist, pulling the agitated man closer to him.

They stood together, naturally settling against one another. Wally’s feet shuffled back and forth, his bottom lip between his teeth. “Umm. Well, guys…Bruce and I are sort of—”

“We  _ are _ together.” Bruce finished. He looked at Wally, surprise there before he turned to look at their team, a mega-watt grin replacing his anger. “Yeah.”

Bruce continued staring at his lover, affection leaking into his gaze for the rest of the team to stare at in awe.

“You know,” Clark said, a smile settling on his face. “If anyone could do it..”

“It would be Wally.” They all said in unison. Wally simply smiled back at them, quickly pecking Bruce’s cheek causing the man to frown.

“Okay,” Lantern said, happy for the newly discovered couple in front of them. “We can talk about this later, but I think we need to know what made you so upset earlier, Wally.” John paused when he saw the speedster’s grin disappear completely, replaced with an almost broken look.

The others saw the change as well, Bruce let go as Wally stepped up to the console and typed into the search bar, bringing up a screenshot of the Central City paper. The headline reading, “DECORATED COP COMMITS SUICIDE ATOP NEW LENNOX TOWER, CLAIMS CONSPIRACY”

Wally looked at all of them, confusion still evident on their faces, the empathy in Bruce’s gaze prompted him to continue. “I told you, I had a long night. This morning at 2:42 am, I got called out as Wally West to a man threatening to jump from Lennox Tower. It was my friend, Detective Blake Hayes.” Wally stared at the headline, the words taunting him as he ignored the mixed sadness and sympathy he could feel from the others around the table, “I tried talking him down, but he committed suicide from atop the new Lennox Tower being built in Central City. Victor Lennox has started funneling a lot of money into the city, he’s made a lot of new jobs in his facilities and he’s becoming the new ‘it boy’ for economic growth in my city. But he’s dirty. He’s invested heavily in the local gangs and mafia, so much so that he makes the rules. They do what he wants and no one touches his shipments. The CCPD hasn’t been able to pin anything on him. Detective Hayes,” Wally paused for a moment, the name hard to say, but he continued, “Blake was the lead detective assigned to an investigation into Lennox’s involvement in a possible drug and human trafficking ring. We’d get close to leads, only to have doors slam right in our faces. Men, women, and kids are all dying, but his most recent crime, the murder of Livy Emerson, sent Blake into a frenzy. Evidence suggests…” Wally hesitated before continuing realizing he was breaking protocol, but they needed to know what kind of bastard they were up against. “Evidence suggests that Lennox kept Livy as his pet. There were signs of physical abuse and sexual assault on the body when we found her in the newest housing project by the river. She was shot up with drugs before being raped and strangled. She was fourteen.”

Everyone looked sick, Shayera actually reached for the nearest trashcan. Superman paled, Wonder Woman, threw her chair against the wall, John glowed green before growling low in his throat. J’onn looked down at the table, sadness in his eyes. Bruce glared at the picture of Lennox next to the newspaper headline. If looks could do harm, somewhere Lennox was writhing in pain. Wally took a deep breath and continued.

“The guy is a textbook sociopath, I met him at a charity gala and he gave me the chills. I’ve heard that even Lex Luthor finds Lennox disturbing, which is why I was surprised when you said he was Luthor’s kryptonite supplier. It’s obvious Lennox is heavily involved with the human trafficking trade and even Lex Luthor doesn’t stoop that low.”

“It’s true. Every time I’ve come across something like that in Metropolis, it somehow managed to dismantle within weeks. Luthor is crazy, but he’s not that crazy.” Superman stated, sounding uncomfortable defending the biggest thorn in his side. 

“Lennox has no scruples. He’s the scum of the Earth and the CCPD hasn’t been able to get anything to stick. I can’t even find anyone willing to testify as the Flash and I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Bruce stood next to Wally, his hand grasping his as he saw his lover’s shoulders tense. “Blake was my best friend. My brother. And I know that somehow, lennox is responsible. Blake knew something and he died for it.” A tear fell down his cheek, his last conversation with his friend running through his head.

The other founders stood, seeing Wally so sad made them want to murder whoever had made their friend feel this way. Wally was their heart, their conscience, and they did not want their heart broken.

Superman placed a comforting hand on Wally’s shoulder. “We’ll get him Wally. We’ll find a way.”

Superman looked at Bruce, knowing that Bruce had to be pissed. He could see the Dark Knight’s gears churning behind the cowl, he recognized that clenched jaw. Bruce saw Clark’s gaze, Superman nodded in acknowledgment, knowing they would do whatever they could to help ease their friend’s suffering and nab the son-of-a-bitch.

“We’ll regroup later,” Superman nodded and left, the meeting adjourned. 

The other group members mumbled their sympathies as they all filtered out of the room, the meeting clearly drawn to a close so they could all disperse and figure out how to next proceed. It being Flash’s city, they would follow his lead, they had his back no matter what, but each of them were worried at the hard glint in the younger man’s eyes. They hadn’t seen that look since they’d all woken up to the sound of Brainiac’s screams as Wally let go of his control and took him down. They’d almost lost him once. They sure as hell weren’t going to risk a second.

Diana looked back one last time at her friends. Bruce and Wally were holding each other, murmuring softly and she couldn’t help but think about the Justice Lord’s universe. How it had been Superman that had avenged their friend when the Flash died and how he’d almost done the same when they had thought Wally was dead after defeating Brainiac and Luthor. But looking at Bruce, she knew, if something happened to Flash, Superman wouldn’t be the one to cross the line first. It would be Batman.

Making it worse, she wasn’t sure she or anyone else could stop him. Honestly, she didn’t know if they  _ would _ stop him. A world without Wally…it wasn’t worth thinking about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!


	3. Love Me, I Know You Do

Bruce heard the door to the elevator close, Diana the last to leave.

Now they knew. And they were supportive. Giddy, even. He hadn’t expected that, but he could see just how much their positive reactions had pleased Wally and that was really all that mattered.

Wally had snaked his arms back around Bruce’s waist as soon as the others had left. He loved that they were supportive, but he about to lay on the PDA in front of them. Though watching Supes turn beet red had been fun for a moment

Then reality had stepped in and raked its bitch claws all over his happy moment.

Blake was dead and it was Lennox’s fault.

Wally rested his forehead against Bruce’s shoulder, content to just hold Bruce and have Bruce hold him back. A moment of peace before the coming storm. He knew they’d get Lennox, somehow, but they needed more answers and all they had were questions.

“How much kryptonite has Lennox supplied Luthor with?”

Bruce reached into his utility belt, grabbing a small remote from one of his compartments, he clicked one of the many small buttons and solid clunk came from the elevator door.

Wally looked up at Bruce, his green eyes staring into his own quizzically. Bruce put the small remote back in his pocket, “I have the system overrides.” Wally’s brows furrowed more, “I locked the door, to everyone.”

“Oh.” Wally’s eyebrows rose, understanding lighting his eyes with something between seriousness and glee that they could have this room to themselves for a while. Still holding Bruce, Wally looked at the two pictures up on the screen.

Bruce saw Wally’s expression darken at the sight of the megalomaniac smiling down from the picture. “Lennox has supplied around 1,000 pounds of kryptonite to Luthor.”

Wally’s eyes shot to Bruce, shock on his face. “Where the hell did he get all of that?”

Bruce shrugged, the motion rustling Wally’s arms. “We still don’t know. My guess is he managed to find a mine somewhere. I’ve managed to located many of them, but there are still areas that I haven’t looked.”

Wally could see the far off look in Bruce’s eye, he knew that not knowing had to be killing Bruce, but he was willing to bet they’d find out soon enough.

Wally pulled out of the embrace, sighing. “What did Dick say?”

Bruce frowned.

Wally rolled his eyes and leaned on the back of his chair, “Oh c’mon. I know you. What did he say?”

Bruce hesitated, but grumbled and brought up the CCPD files on the screen. “Are you sure you want to–?”

“Just bring up the damn reports already, Bruce.”

Bruce nodded and opened the crime scene report and the open investigation file. Wally read the information and took it in, trying to remain as clinical as he could.

“They think he may have been on something?” Wally asked, surprised at the toxicology screens the ME had asked for.

“Dick said that the ME believes Hayes had been using for a few weeks. There were signs of use on the body that were older than what would have been just last night.”

Wally shook his head, reading more information on the case and feeling more like he was jumping straight into the fire. “What were you thinking, Blake?” He whispered, he looked at Bruce, sadness in his eyes, “I just don’t get it. He was the lead investigator on the drug and human trafficking case, he knew what drugs could do.”

“It sounds like it started around the time of that murder.” Bruce walked closer to Wally, “He was suicidal, Wally. It takes someone on a broken path to do that.”

“But–”

Bruce put his hand on Wally’s shoulder, “It’s not your fault. He’d made up his mind.”

Wally looked back at the screen, he glared at the interview report from the follow up with Victor Lennox that morning.

“He can’t get away with this.” Wally growled, “I don’t know how, but Lennox is responsible and with this kryptonite thing...he’s branching out.”

“You think he’s seeing how far he can go with his reach.” Bruce looked up at the report, the conclusion seeming more logical.

Wally shrugged, “Why not? He’s got the revenue stream to branch out and if he wants to broaden his market for his black market deals, he has to start somewhere. What better way than getting our feet wet with one of the most influential criminals in the world?”

Bruce crossed his arms, pondering the information, “Could be…”

“Besides,” Wally snarled, “He thinks he has CCPD in his pocket, so he’s pretty cocky. If Blake was getting too close, what better way to silence him and discredit him than by making his biggest opposition look like a drug addict?”

“It would stall the investigation and make anything the detective discovered seem biased or untrue.” Batman  felt like they might be heading too close to the ledge, Wally’s whole body was buzzing and his hands were fists at his sides. Bruice reached over and removed the images, shutting down the screen.

“Hey–!” Wally shouted, “What gives?”

“We can’t do much without the ME’s report. When we know more about Blake, we can move from there.”

“But Bruce–” Wally’s shoulders tensed. Bruce shook his head, “I’m just saying we need more.”

Wally felt his heart drop into his stomach. He knew that. He just wasn’t sure they were going to find it.

Bruce saw the discouragement in Wally and couldn’t help but take the man into his arms. Wally sighed into the embrace and held onto Bruce’s cape, his face buried in the crook of Batman’s neck.

“It can’t be for nothing.” Wally whispered, voice breaking. Bruce held him tighter, “I know, Wally. It won’t be.”

Wally nodded and held on tighter, trying his best to absorb Bruce’s strength so he could walk out the doors and go on Monitor Duty without beaming into Central City and tearing Lennox apart.

“Wally,” Bruce purred, his hands rubbing comforting circles on Wally’s buzzing back. He nipped at Wally’s ear and throat, the speedster purring and mewling at the touch. “What do you need?”

Wally moaned as Bruce ran his tongue along his jaw, he gasped and moved against Bruce’s hard body. He could feel his arousal rising quickly, the moment they’d had this morning and the emotions from the past day stirring up his sex drive.

“I need you, Bruce.”

Bruce smiled, chuckling into Wally’s throat as he kissed a trail of licks and nips from his chin to his ear. “I need you, Wally.”

Wally sighed and kissed Bruce, putting everything in him into it. Their tongues danced and their moans became ragged as they devoured each other. Wally broke from the kiss first, Bruce not losing contact. But Wally couldn’t stop the next words from leaving his mouth.

“Do you love me?”

Bruce stiffened, his hands frozen on Wally’s waist. “Wally—”

“I love you, Bruce. I need you.” Wally stared into the guarded eyes of his lover, “And I know you need me. I need you to love me, Bruce. That’s it.”

Bruce carefully peeled back Wally’s cowl and then removed his own, now facing green eyes with his clouded blue ones. He waited for the usual panic to kick in, but it didn’t come. Instead he felt an overwhelming warmth and excitement bubble in his chest.

“Yes, Wally. I love you.”

Wally’s furrowed brow quickly smoothed into smile lines as a smile broke out over his face and he dove in to kiss the mouth that had just uttered his salvation. “Thank you, Bruce.” He kissed his again, “Thank you, thank you…”

Bruce growled and held Wally closer, but the speedster pulled away, smiling at him with that look he reserved for Bruce, “I’ve heard you say it, now. You said you love me, that means no take backs. You said love and I—mmph...”

Wally was cut off by Bruce’s mouth on his own. Two gloved hands on either side of his face drawing him into the sweetness of his mouth. Wally whimpered, leaning into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Bruce.

Bruce tore his mouth from Wally’s, his breathing ragged, and touched his forehead with Wally’s. “Wally. I love you.”

Wally felt joy swell in his chest, and felt like his chest would burst. He laughed, some of the joy leaking into the world, “I love you, Bruce. I love you and I knew you loved me too, somewhere in there, but I wasn’t s-sure if you would—”

“Wally.” Bruce sighed, grabbing Wally’s hips so he could be closer to the other man, “Shut up.” He grabbed the back of Wally’s neck, their lips meeting with a hard smack, this kiss hard and hot and sloppy. He prayed that whatever this spark that ignited every time he tated Wally would never fade away.

Wally leaned in closer, nipping Bruce’s bottom lip, startling him, making Bruce growl deep in his chest. Bruce’s hands wandered down from Wally’s neck to his waist, and cupped his muscular ass. He lifted the speedster closer, their tongues battling for dominance.

Wally felt two, solid hands cup his ass, he moaned into Bruce’s mouth, not giving into his lover’s control. Suddenly, Wally felt the conference table behind him, instinctively he jumped onto the tabletop, his legs parting to allow Bruce between them. Wally wrapped his legs around Bruce’s waist and used his crossed feet to bring Bruce’s groin ever so deliciously close to his own, his hips grinding into Bruce’s noticeable erection.

“Bruce.” Wally moaned, face towards the ceiling as Bruce rained kisses and more down his exposed neck. “I need you.”

Bruce nibbled on Wally’s ear, Wally losing all train of thought, making Bruce grin. He knew what drove Wally wild, and he’d just told Wally that he loved him, a big leap for the emotionally guarded man. He was going to take his time and kiss the man.

“Wally.” He growled the speedster’s name, Wally gasping as Bruce ran a gloved hand down to the runner’s thigh, Wally’s own erection more noticeable.

Wally grabbed Bruce’s face between his hands, trying to hold the man’s attention, “Bruce. If we don’t stop now, I’m not going to be able to stop at all.”

Bruce placed his hand over Wally’s, pulling it to his mouth so he could kiss the red-clad palm, his tongue darting out to lick up to Wally’s fingertip.

“We’re not stopping.” Bruce laced his fingers with the hand he held, pulling it to his hard groin, Wally gaping at the feeling underneath the body armor. Bruce leaned close to the now panting hero, his lips on the redhead’s ear, “Because I’m Batman.”

The last of Wally’s resolve fell into a crumbled heap, his arms latching around Bruce’s neck as he yanked him into a bruising kiss. Tongues and teeth smashing together, both of them trying to melt into the each other.

Bruce removed his gloves, Wally struggled to remove his clothes the rest of the way, their clothes piling in a messy heap under the table. Bruce pushed Wally on his back, roughly pulling him to the edge of the table so he could get a better grip on his lover. Wally arched upwards, feeling the delicious friction between them, Bruce’s hard cock rubbing on his own hard cock, the small drops of glistening pre-cum making him hungry for it. Wally wrapped his legs around Bruce’s waist, Bruce gripping their cocks in one of his hands while playing with Wally’s engorged head, trailing his thumb along the sensitive tip.

“Bruce!” He gasped.

Bruce grinned at the desperation in his lover’s voice. He loved making Wally beg, it usually didn’t take him long to have the redhead flushed and wet beneath him. Then he would take everything he wanted from the willing speedster.

Wally groaned as Bruce teased him, grinding his hips so he could feel their cocks together. “Bruce stop messing around, I need you now. I’m not going to last much longer I—ah!”

Bruce gripped their cocks in his hand, pumping up and down furiously. Wally’e eyes rolled back, Bruce basking in the glory of his ability to drive Wally beyond reason.

Wally couldn’t think, he couldn’t speak, all he could do was feel: pleasure, pain, love. He gasped When Bruce reached down between his cheeks, his wetness leaking there. Bruce moaned at the slick opening and pushed in a finger, then two, then three. One of the best things about Wally’s speed, his ass was ready for him fast.

Bruce smiled, he rubbed along Wally’s shaft with his own and worked the tight opening with his other hand. They continued like that, Wally begging and whimpering for more, Bruce groaning low in his throat, the sensations higher, feer than it had been before. Whether it was because they were open with their friends, or on the watchtower, or Bruce had finally said those three little words, something had changed.

Wally wrapped his legs around Bruce, pulling him in close with every thrust. “Bruce. I need you inside me.”

“Wally—”

Wally grabbed Bruce around the neck and pulled him down for a teeth-gnashing kiss. He nipped at Bruce’s lip and licked along his jaw until he was breathing in his ear, “Now.”

Bruce didn’t answer, instead he positioned himself at Wally’s tight entrance. Wally was wet and writhing on the table, Bruce gasped as he pubbed his cock between Wallys cheeks and brushed his cock along Wally’s winking hole, “Bruce!”

Without warning he entered, pistoning his hard cock right on Wally’s sensitive spot. Wally felt Bruce slam into him, his breath leaving him as he felt his muscle stretch to take in his lover’s size. It was amazing. Bruce filled him completely and stilled, he grit his teeth against the ecstasy of his cock throbbing in Wally’s ass. He felt Wally’s ankles squeezing around his waist, signaling him to move. He did, building a steady rhythm–in and out, in and out–until they both lost any sense of where they were.

Bruce could hear Wally getting close to orgasm; he rubbed Wally’s cock and the speedster let out a yell coming all over his stomach. The sight of Wally flushed and in the throes of orgasm sent Bruce over the edge and he came inside Wally, his cum leaking out onto the table as he collapsed on top of Wally in a boneless heap.

Wally sighed rubbing circles on Bruce’s back, a feeling of euphoria flooding him. Bruce groaned and stood up from Wally’s chest, kissing him softly.

“I love you.” He whispered.

Wally smiled, brushing his finger along Bruce’s nose, “I love you.”

Bruce pushed up from the table and walked into the adjoining bathroom. Wally settled down and looked around the room, his head lolling to his right as Bruce walked back to him with a towel.

Bruce wiped his brow and saw Wally still on the table, laughing. He tossed to towel to Wally, “What’s so funny?”

Wally caught it and simply pointed at the chair next to their clothes, the large “S” making Bruce groan.

“Supes is gonna be so pissed.” Wally laughed and quickly cleaned himself, changing back into his costume.

Bruce wiped down and started changing into his costume, stilling when Wally started to help him back into his armor. “You don’t have to—”

“I want to,” Wally said, kissing him softly on his swollen lips. Once Bruce was dressed they made their way to the elevator, all evidence of their lovemaking now gone down the laundry chute.

“I love you, Bruce.”

Bruce grinned, that feeling of anxiety he thought he would have at hearing those words nowhere in sight. “I love you, Wally.”

***       

Bruce made sure his cowl was on straight before unlocking the elevator doors. Wally did the same, checking for any obvious love bites or hickeys in the reflective steel of the elevator.

Wally sighed as the doors closed, all thoughts of he and Bruce’s tumble left in the conference room and his thoughts drifted to Blake. A small part of him still felt like he would wake up, warm in Bruce’s bed and it would all have been a nightmare. He and Blake would meet up for drinks and they’d laugh about the day… but he knew it wasn’t going to happen.

As the duo walked out onto the main deck, Wally heard a beeping in his ear, a lower tone that told him the call was being forwarded from his cell phone: Wally West’s cell phone.

He edged closer to the wall, hand going up to his ear as a curious Bruce followed close behind him. Waving at a smiling Superman, he walked a little further down the hallway by the large window so he could hear the call. Bruce stopped a moment to talk to Superman, letting Wally take a moment alone.

“This is Wally!” He said, filling his tone with fake enthusiasm.

“Ah yes, Mr. West, how are you this evening?” Wally frowned, it wasn’t a voice he recognized. “Is this a good time?”

“Um..yeah, sure, may I ask who I’m speaking to?”

The laugh on the other end made Wally’s hair stand on end, the smooth, silky voice continued, “Pardon me, Mr. West. I should have introduced myself. I’m Victor Lennox.”

Wally stopped breathing, his face went white, and he had to put his hand on the window glass to remain upright as shock tore through him. He glanced up at Bruce through the reflection in the window and saw his lover take notice of his stance. Not wanting anymore attention, he quickly stood, and smiled reassuringly back at Superman and Batman, Bruce frowned but went back to his conversation.

Wally cleared his throat, knowing he needed more privacy. “Sir, actually this is a bad time. Can I ask what this is concerning?”

He heard a small silence on the other end, but then Lennox responded, “I can call you later, Mr. West.”

Wally swallowed the bile rising in his throat, “Yes, I should be free later on.”

“Talk then, have a good afternoon.” The click on the other line told Wally he’d been hung up on. He didn’t really want to chance that Bruce had heard the conversation so he squared his shoulders and joined the other two men down the hall.

Bruce noticed the change in Wally and stopped mid-sentence, both he and Superman looking at the speedster as he joined them. “Everything alright?”

Wally nodded, a tight smile on his face, “Peachy.”

Bruce and Superman shared a look, Wally grumbling to himself so he could jump in before they started to hover, “My boss gave me a couple days off. You know,” He paused, “To settle all of Blake’s stuff.”

“Oh.” Superman said sadly, he reached out and put his hand on Wally’s shoulder for comfort, “If you need anything, let us know.”

Wally smiled, feeling a little guilty at hiding his call from Lennox. “Thanks, Supes.”

Superman nodded, “Are you sure you want to do Monitor Duty? I’d be happy to–”

Wally shook his head, “No, no. It’s fine. I’d rather be busy than pouting.”

Superman frowned, but didn’t argue, “Okay, well, if you change your mind–”

“I’ll just holler for you.” Wally smiled, Superman smiled back and with a nod at Batman, walked down the hall towards the training room.

Wally laughed, the sound hollow, “I think he just wants to get out of his sparring session with Supergirl.”

Batman looked Waly up and down, noticing there was still a subtle change there from when he’d left him a moment ago. He didn’t want to hover, but it worried him. “Who are you on duty with?”

Wally thought for a moment, “Mr. Terrific. Then Captain Atom, Vigilante, Captain Marvel, and Orion are my first wave, and my second wave is Fire, Shayera, and Vixen.”

“And Question.” Bruce added.

Wally shrugged, “Yeah, but I never really count him. He kind of just does what he wants and I don’t have the patience to deal with his crazy. Besides,” Wally said, crossing his arms, “If you knew, why did you ask?”

Bruce started walking away, “Because you never read the chart.”

Wally rolled his eyes, “Uh-huh.”

Batman turned away and walked down the hall and around the corner. Wally sighed, his nerves still rattled from his earlier conversation. He decided to let it go for now, he had a job to do and Wally West would have to wait a few hours. He groaned and dashed ot the main deck, sliding into his chair and looking up at the many monitors.

It was gonna to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for you guys to see just how creepy creep Lennox is *mwahahaha* *cough* *cough* *haha*


	4. Showmanship At It's Worst

That was the understatement of the century.

After four hours, Wally wanted to put his head through a wall. The world seemed to be mocking him, nothing more than a few home city problems that were taken care of by their respective heroes, and a tornado that touched down just outside of Kansas City. Vigilante and Captain Atom had beamed down–Wally grumbled they were escaping–to help the relief effort, but no one had died in the storm and the National Guard had it well in hand. All in all it was a quiet day so far.

Wally sighed and leaned back in his chair, thumping his head against the chair. 

For once, could the world be unruly when he needed a distraction? It always seemed hell bent on interrupting his good days, why not his bad days? He was grateful the world was at peace, even if it was only for a couple hours, but he was going out of his mind wondering what Lennox had wanted. 

Superman wandered in after his sparring session with Supergirl ended, looking like a proud coach.

“What has you so chipper?” Wally asked, Superman smiled.

“She’s doing alright.”

Wally laughed, “Of course she is, you’re helping her out.”

Superman blushed, “Thanks.” He looked around seeing the place well in hand, even though Flash gave of the slacker and jokester vibe, Superman always knew he could depend on the speedster. “How’s the town in Nebraska?”

Wally brought up video feed from the local news in the state and surrounding area, images and footage of Captain Atom and Vigilante helping the National Guard speaking for itself. Superman smiled and nodded, his hand landing reassuringly on Wally’s shoulder. “Good.” He leaned closer to Wally, trying to keep their conversation private. “And you?”

Flash sighed, smiling at the veteran superhero, “I’m fine Supes. Don’t worry about me.”

Superman stood, frowning at the youngest founding member, Wally rolled his eyes, “I’m fine.” Wally smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Bats made sure of that.”

Superman’s cheeks flushed and he stammered an excuse about a previous appointment, flying off in a hurry after that. Wally chuckled and shook his head. He looked back at the monitors, occasionally coordinating a mission or offering some information to a Leaguer on the ground. Mr. Terrific was busy helping Steel update the mainframe so Wally manned the communications alone until about a half hour until he was due to switch with Diana and Black Canary.

He sipped the blended mocha he’d run off to the cafeteria for, needing the sugar and caffeine to push him through to the end. He slurped the contents and was content to lounge back the remaining minutes of his shift, but an image in the lower right hand corner of the monitors caught his eyes. He tossed his empty cup in the nearby trashcan and leaned closer to the screen. It was one of the many news channels that were displayed on the monitors and Wally quickly brought the feed onto his screen.

He shot out of his chair, eyes blazing.

Terrific looked over at him, shocked to see Wally was buzzing and glaring at the screen. “Flash, you okay?”

Wally stilled, looked over at Terrific, face stoic. “Yeah. Hey, listen.” Wally minimized the news feed, “I need to cut out a couple minutes early, tell Wonder Woman sorry for me.”

“Sure, but–” Terrific didn’t get a chance to say anything more as a gust of wind blew by him and Flash was standing below on the teleportation pad.

“Send me down, please!” Wally shouted.

Terrific saw the destination set for Central City, and since Flash outranked him and he’d always gotten along well with the guy, he nodded and beamed the speedster down to his home city.

“Where’s Flash?”

Terrific looked towards the gravelly voice, Batman looming behind him, glancing around the room. Terrific cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like he might have made an error, “He just left.” At the dark look he quickly interrupted, “But I’m sure he had a reason. He seemed in a hurry to get home.”

Batman couldn’t help but feel a little proud that people seemed so ready to defend Wally, it spoke to his character. He wasn’t able to think about it long as an image on the screen caught his attention. The daily news from Central City was on the lower screen, larger than a few of the other news broadcasts indicating it had been viewed recently. The “Breaking News” banner ran along the bottom of the news coverage and cameras were focused on a man. Batman moved closer, his eyes glaring when he saw that it was Victor Lennox giving a press conference.

In front of Lennox Tower.

_ Oh, fuck. _

Bruce growled and marched off the main deck and down towards the teleports.

“Send me down.”

Terrific blinked at the harsh tone, but instinctively jumped to comply to the order. 

“Batman.” Batman spun around at the intrusion to his thoughts, Superman was standing a few feet away, eyes on the image behind him. Batman didn’t respond, instead marched forward on his intended path, but Clark’s words as he brushed by him stopped him.

“If you run to fight his battles for him, he’ll never understand how strong he is.”

Superman stared at Batman, the dark-clad hero wanting more than anything to go down to Central City, but he forgot just how inciteful–and capable–Clark could be.

He growled and sulked off to the gym, deciding Wonder Woman and Black Canary’s training session with the younger heroes on the roster needed a little attention.

Superman smiled at Terrific, the other hero still not sure what had just happened. 

Bruce tried to keep his imagination from jumping to the worst possible scenario, but every time he thought about it, the more he thought that Wally had to be fuming.

_ Lennox has balls, I’ll give him that. _

That wasn’t good. The more willing a villain was to take risks, the more unpredictable they were. He wasn’t sure what Wally had planned, but what he did know was an angry speedster was unpredictable.

And that made Wally dangerous.

***

Wally arrived in Central City and promptly ran to the downtown square. A crowd of reporters and cameras were still huddled around the base of–the in progress–Lennox Tower. Right in the middle of it all was Victor Lennox himself.

“–and I want the police department and the city to know that, first and foremost, Detective Hayes was a hero. Though he may have been troubled in his last moments, we can’t forget what he sacrificed for us. We need to make an effort to reach out to those who work so hard for our city. It’s a reminder, even our bravest men and women can fall victim to despair.” The well-dressed man looked perfectly somber in front of the camera, his expression perfectly contrite and meaningful, but his eyes gave him away. They were empty.

The reporters and people surrounding him devoured his words like plants in the sunlight. Wally slid to a stop just outside the group, hearing the last of the businessman’s speech.

He wanted to hurl.

It didn’t take long for people to notice his entrance, the cameras quickly focusing on their local hero instead of the man trying to be one.

“Flash! Flash! Over here!” The chorus of reporters cried. Wally smiled and ran to where Lennox was standing at the podium. The millionaire smiled at him with empty eyes and reached out to him with a handshake.

“So nice you could join us, Flash.” Lennox spoke, his smooth voice like honey on a viper, but his grip was tight.

Flash smiled at him, ending the handshake as quickly as he could without seeming like he wanted to take a shower. “Thank you, Mr. Lennox–”

“Please,” Lennox schmoozed, “Call me Vic.”

Wally forced a smile, playing up the easy-going jokester, “Vic.”

Lennox looked contrite, his emotions seeming rehearsed, “I’m was just addressing the press about the unfortunate incident that happened here last night.”

Wally swallowed the bile in his throat, “Yes, I heard about that.” He looked at the reporters, “My thoughts are with the family and friends of that detective.”

The reporters erupted in shouts, “Flash! Flash!”

Wally pointed at the brunette reporter in the front, “Yes, Linda?”

The beautiful, female reporter smiled at him, “Can you comment on the claims the detective was making prior to his jump? Is there any truth–”

Wally held up his hand, face serious and everyone quieted, “I’m going to stop you there.” He didn’t even look at Lennox, “I’ve worked with and served this amazing city, and the people in it, for many years. I’ve worked with the police department, fire department, hospitals, and many others during my time here and never once have I spoken out about police matters.”

“But Flash–” She whined, he shook his head.

“I’m not going to comment on any open or ongoing investigations the CCPD may or may not have. But what I will say,” He paused, glancing at Lennox, the man standing back with a tight smile on his face. Wally looked back to the reporters, “I will protect this city. We’ve seen some dark days, and the truth is it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. Innocent people have been hurt, Detective Hayes was one of them, but don’t forget about your neighbors. People around here are struggling, people you come in contact with daily. If you see someone in need, please, lend a hand. Fate hasn’t been kind to some, and some of those people have also suffered during this time.” He paused looking in the crowd, a small smile on his face, “I want you to know that I am going to do everything in my power to protect the people of this city. I have a vested interest in Joe’s hot dog cart staying in business.” The reporters laughed, Wally smiling at the cameras, but he was sincere in his words, “Central City is so much stronger than anything these new criminals and drug lords can possibly dish out. I won’t back down, because no one is above or beneath the law.” 

Wally looked back at Victor Lennox, the man visibly tense but still putting on his smile. He stared at the man while he spoke, “This city is my home and it’s worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears I shed for it. I won’t give up.” Wally gave a final look at Lennox, his eyes hard. “I promise you that.”

The reporters started shouting again, but Wally ignored them. Instead he nodded at them and ran off, leaving the limelight in favor of the sunlight.

He’d done his best to remain civil, but something about that man made his blood boil. Lennox knew he wasn’t going to bow to his influence. He meant what he’d said. He loved this city and the people in it. 

Wally stopped a few miles away from the city center in the district his apartment was in. He sighed and ran up the tallest building around and stood at the top, basking in the sun. He took a look around, the sun was lowering in the sky, the day almost done, but the city wasn’t even close to falling asleep. It might not be the biggest, fanciest, or the most eventful, but it was his. 

Lennox wasn’t going to take his challenge well. He knew that, but it didn’t stop him from speaking up for those he felt Lennox was hurting. 

So, he ran and soaked up the sun because he could.

That’s all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love all the comments, they really make my day and help keep me writing :)


	5. Pray My Soul the Bat To Keep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who may have seen this story on Fanfic.net, this is where my story expands and becomes a different beast all together.
> 
> I also want to thank everyone for the awesome comments and kudos, it really does make my day!
> 
> Thanks for reading :)
> 
> UPDATE 05.16: I went in and edited my mistakes on the geography of Keystone and Central City and their river...whoops.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Wally grumbled into the soft pillow, floundering around the bed for another to put over his head to stifle the shouting. The warm cocoon of blankets and pillows was soon taken from him and he blinked at the bright light from the lamp.  
“What do you want, Dick?”

Dick Grayson, his best friend since they were kids, loomed over him at the side of the king-sized bed. He was wearing his Nightwing suit, lacking a domino mask so his startling blue eyes were clear.

And angry.

Dick threw the pillow in his hand at Wally’s head, the speedster caught it as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s six.” Dick spat.

Wally glared at him, “In the morning?”

Dick nodded. “Now tell me why you would openly challenge Victor Lennox in front of news cameras.”

Wally blinked, rubbing a hand through his tousled hair. He looked around the large master suite and grumbled. He rolled out of bed in nothing but his Batman boxers and grabbed his soft, red robe from the hook next to Bruce’s.  
He’d had every intention of staying in Central City the night before, but after the day he’d had, he had spent about five minutes alone in his cold bed and promptly ran to Gotham. It had taken him half that time in Bruce’s bed to fall asleep.  
He tied the robe shut and frowned at his glaring best friend He padded over to the arm chair in the corner of the room by the fireplace and plopped into the plush fabric. It was still somewhat amazing to him that he could feel so comfortable in this lavish place.

“I didn’t challenge anyone.”

“I beg to differ,” Dick crossed from the bed to the small, comfortable love seat adjacent to Wally, propping his feet on the beautiful mahogany coffee table. “I saw the footage from Victor Lennox’s press conference. You might as well have said ‘I, the Flash, think Victor Lennox is a creep’ and it would have been more subtle than the way you glared at him up there.”

Wally slouched in the chair, “He is a creep.”

Nightwing groaned, “You can’t just go around calling people creeps. Especially people with as large a benefactor base as Victor Lennox.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?” Wally said, exasperation in his voice.

Nightwing sat forward and propped his elbows on his knees, “You can’t do that.”

“He was giving a press conference right where he died, Dick.” Wally’s voice was soft, but there was venom in it. He was looking the coffee table, but Dick knew he was furious. Wally looked up at his friend, fire in his eyes, “It was the same as him spitting on his grave.”

Dick sighed, he couldn’t argue. If what Blake had said the night of his death had any weight, Lennox was a bastard. A dangerous bastard. Offering a helping hand to the authorities and proclaiming innocence to the press were textbook. Serial killers were more subtle.

It also meant Victor Lennox didn’t take challenges lightly.

“Did you talk to Bruce?”

Wally frowned, “He’s not my keeper.”

“That’s not what I meant–”

“I know, I know.” Wally sighed, “You’re one of the few people who understand what it’s like to be loved by him...but it’s still irritating that people seem to think I’m incapable of handling myself.”

“No one thinks that.” Wally shot him a look, Dick shrugged, “They’re a little overprotective, I’ll grant you that, but it doesn’t mean they think you’re an invalid.”

“You remember how they were after I beat Luthor/Brainiac.” Wally had his face set and his arms crossed in a stance Dick knew well.

“We all do.”

Wally ignored the tone, and Dick knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Wally in his current mood. So he changed the subject. “You hear from the ME yet on Blake?” Wally shook his head, shoulders slumping telling Dick he’d be more amiable to conversation.

“I was running around all day, literally.” Wally groaned, his muscles still a little sore. “CCPD also caught my news segment and asked for help securing a warehouse they thought had a shipment of that new drug that’s been causing overdoses on the southside.”

Dick paused, “Central City’s having drug problems?”

Wally nodded, “We had some a long time ago in the sixties and seventies, before my or Barry’s time. It was a nightmare, crack and heroin dealers tried to move into the city with the rise in the national drug epidemic, but Central City quickly ran them out. Central City may be urban, but it’ still a far cry from the climate of Chicago, and a tenth of what Gotham or Metropolis has to deal with. But they still tried the market, and ultimately failed. We haven’t had any other problems until now.”

“Why?”

“Why did they fail?”

Dick shook his head, “No, why did they try in Central City? Like you said, it’s small time compared to other cities–”

"The river.”

Dick frowned, “The river.”

Wally nodded. “Central City and Keystone are separated by the Missouri River with easy access from anywhere on the west side of Central City and the east side of Keystone. One of the largest industries in the two cities is shipping. Back in the day, boats paid a toll to get south of the Van Buren Bridge leading from Central to Keystone on the Missouri.”

“Huh.” Dick thought about it, “It makes sense, really. You never really think of inland cities as being shipping meccas, but a large amount of interstate shipping happens on the rivers. The Missouri leads into the Mississippi and that lets out into the ocean." Dick shook his head of all the unnecessary facts he seemed to be carrying around, but continued on, "What changed? How did the drug trade find its way back?”

Wally leaned forward and shook his head. “I’m not sure yet, but I'm not ruling anything out. Just like the society it exists in, crime evolves.”

Dick could understand that, “What’s the drug, weed? Crack?”

Wally felt frustrated. “That’s the thing. I’ve tested samples of victims blood, urine, hair, skin, you name it, and whatever is killing them shows up differently. It’s like the drug can’t make up its mind. In one victim it looks like cocaine, in another an opioid, and in another a hallucinogen like LSD or ecstasy. But nothing dings on the scans, nothing recognizable anyway. It’s just symptomatically similar to those drugs. No traces of cocaine or anything more than alcohol, nicotine, or marijuana show up on the tox screens.”

Dick stood in puzzled silence, "That doesn’t make much sense.”

“Tell me about it,” Wally felt the knot in the middle of his back start to tighten at the thought, “We've been trying for months to pinpoint the point of distribution, but all we have is the link between the overdoses.”

“How?” Dick asked, crossing his arms in a familiar way.

Wally held back a smirk, he recognized the stance after years of staring at it longingly across from him in League meetings, “All the overdoses leave a similar residue around the mouth, a pale, iridescent, foam around the corners of the mouth or eyes. And there are trace amounts of garnet in the trachea or bloodstream.”

Dick shuddered, the idea of foaming at the eyes gruesome, “Next time I ask, tell me to shut up.”

Wally smiled, “Noted.”

“Why garnet?”

Wally reached back and rubbed at the knot, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

"Either way," Dick glared at his childhood friend, "you shouldn’t have gone on live television and looked at Lennox like you did.”

Wally rolled his eyes, he held out a hand with a sardonic grin on his face, “Hi, pot. My name’s kettle and you’re black.”

Dick blinked, "Had that one ready to go, did you?”

Wally laughed, “It’s one of my favorites.”

"Either way, Bruce is going to kill you.”

Wally rubbed harder at the knot, “I know.”

The two men sat in silence, the tension easing into a comfort they’d had in each other’s company for years. Wally leaned back and looked at the empty fireplace, nothing there to hold his attention for long. He glanced at Dick, the dark haired man leaning back on the sofa with his eyes shut.

"Lennox called me.”

Blue eyes shot open and stared at Wally, the shock and disbelief there almost comical. Thise eyes blinked at him, “He called the Flash?”

Wally shook his head, “He called Wally West.”

Dick Shot forward in the sofa, looking ready to bolt out the door and rally the troops. “You told the team, right?” Wally opened his mouth, but his face showed his guilt. Dick groaned and stood from the couch, “God, Wally!”

Wally ran in front of Dick before he could leave the room, “Hold on, Dick. Don’t do anything yet. I don’t even know what he wanted, I had to go on Monitor Duty and I told him I couldn’t talk–”

"You told Victor Lennox to call you back later?"

Wally's sheepish grin was the only answer the acrobat got. Dick wanted to throttle him, "Wally.”

"Just wait. Okay?" Wally placed his hands on his best friend's shoulders, "I want to know what he wants before everyone does exactly what you just did, marching in here and saying I'm out of my mind. They would bench me.”

“I wasn’t going to–”

Wally gave Dick a look that told the Bat he didn’t believe a word he said. “What were you going to do?”

Dick opened his mouth to answer, but realized his answer damned him, “I was going to tell Bruce.”

“And what is it you think Bruce would do?”

Dick sighed, “Bench you for your own good.”

Wally smiled, “That's what I thought.”

Dick stared at Wally, knowing his friend was going to be stubborn until he knew what the supposed-maniac wanted. He slumped a little, knowing he couldn’t deny Wally this. Not now. “Fine.” Wally grinned, “But the moment you know what he wants, you tell me. Got it?”

Wally laughed and took a step back, saluting his friend with a dramatic flourish, “Aye, aye sir!”

Dick groaned and rolled his eyes, crossing to the door. “Don’t make me regret this, West.”

“Whatever, Grayson.”

Dick opened the bedroom door, gesturing for Wally to follow. “C’mon. Alfred is making enough pancakes to feed an army.”  
Wally laughed, quickly catching up to Dick as they ambled down the hall towards breakfast.

***

Bruce stumbled upstairs, wearing grey sweats and a black undershirt, around 5:45 in the morning to the smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen. He stopped at the top of the stairs, certain he had to be imagining it, or desiring it so much he could smell it. But, to his surprise, he found Alfred hard at work in the large kitchen. A substantial stack was sitting next to the busy griddle.

"Alfred.”

The Englishman turned at the voice, smiling at his charge, “Ah, Master Wayne. I was wondering when you would grace us with your presence this morning.”

Bruce ignored the subtle–or not so subtle–jab and walked to the brewing coffeepot. He inhaled the aroma and felt some of the tension ease from his sore muscles. He’d trained for an hour with the younger heroes, all of them having some superpower that he didn’t and though he never lost in a fight to them, he still felt the bruises. After the training session he still found his thoughts wandering to Central City and its resident speedster. It had taken considerable effort to keep from beaming down to Central City or call Flash on their comm link. Instead he’d glared at anyone who looked his way until Superman had threatened to drag him off the Watchtower.

So he’d gone to Wayne Industries for the day and performed a few outstanding tasks he’d been neglecting. He couldn’t help it if he watched the news–or security footage–from Central while attending to the mundane paperwork.

After two hours of pretending to work, he’d been dragged into business meetings the remainder of the day and had nothing but time to wonder how Wally was handling Lennox and the press conference. Or any of it.

Of course, later he’d gone on patrol with Nightwing and somehow, his oldest protege always found more ways to flip and somersault off buildings every time they worked together. He was a fit man, but there were limits. Now Tim was starting to pick them up and God help him when the youngest Robin caught up to his predecessor, Bruce would be in traction.

Nights like this made him feel old. Well, older.

A soft beeping sound brought his attention to the task at hand, the coffeemaker had finished it’s brew. He grabbed a cup and poured some of the dark liquid inside and put one spoonful of sugar in it to take the edge off. He sat at the massive kitchen island in one of the comfortably upholstered stools. The soft morning light was just starting to edge through the picture window and the natural light from the skylights above gave the kitchen the open, airy, English countryside feeling Alford had desired when Bruce told him to have the kitchen renovated. He smirked at the black granite countertop, elements of Gotham had slipped in as well, but the butler would never admit it. He quietly sipped his coffee and saw his usual three newspapers on the glossy surface, he started reading while while Alfred worked at the large stove he’d been so adamant was too large and extravagant.

Once Wally had started coming around more, he’d opted for the next size larger.

Bruce paused, swallowing another gulp, for the first time realizing the amount of food Alfred was cooking, “Not that I’m not grateful, Alfred. But why are you making so many pancakes?”

Alfred loaded the latest batch of pancakes onto the food warmer on the counter and poured another two rows on the hot griddle. “Master Dick arrived shortly before you did and proclaimed to the world that he could devour a horse. After that, I imagine he went to pester the guest that arrived a few hours earlier.”  
Bruce set down his cup, “Who?”

Alfred smiled, setting a plate with four fluffy pancakes on it in front of Bruce along with butter and maple syrup, “Master Wally.”

“Wally’s here?” Bruce moved to get up but a curt cough stopped him. Alfred raised a dark brow, pointedly staring at the plate in front of Bruce.

“I did not plate those for you to look at. Eat. I’m sure you have not eaten, just as I’m sure Master Dick will bring him down shortly. It is rare for either one of those two to skip any opportunity for food. Lord knows they need it.” Alfred again gestured to the pancakes and Bruce relented, grumbling as he put his napkin on his lap and started to eat. The cleared throat was a move Alfred had used since he was a child. He’d learned at a young age that he had no way to escape whatever accompanied the cleared throat, no matter how hard he tried. Bruce cut into the pancakes and started chewing faster, suddenly ravenous, his pace quickened enough to make Alfred turn around with a smug expression. No sooner had he taken his fourth bite when the sound of laughter in the hall caught his attention. Wally and Dick came through the door soon enough, both of them had ridiculous grins on their faces.

Dick kept walking into the kitchen when he saw Bruce, his smile still firmly in place as he sat at the island. Wally, however, stopped. Bruce raised a brow at the action, or inaction, and waited. Wally’s expression grew wary and Bruce knew then what the problem was.

“How was your day yesterday?” Bruce asked softy, both Dick and Alfred listening but only one of them trying to be discreet. Wally’s wariness evaporated with the question and he grinned. He dashed to the stool next to Bruce, kissing him on the cheek before thanking Alfred for the skyscraper of pancakes he received.

Wally took a large bite and swallowed, eating enthusiastically for a moment before answering. “I’ll jump right to the good stuff since I'm pretty sure you weren’t asking about Monitor Duty. It went about as well as should be expected...I guess.” Wally paused, twirling a bite on his fork, “I don’t really deal with people like Victor Lennox outside League business,” Dick opened his mouth to argue, but Wally cut him off. “Grodd is a gorilla. He doesn’t have a public persona like Lennox does.”  
Dick thought a moment before shrugging and going back to his food. He couldn’t argue with that.

“I flew off the handle a little. I wasn't expecting Lennox to hold a press conference so soon. Seeing him there…” Wally felt his anger rise, but reminded himself to calm down, he was in a safe space. He took a bite and continued, “Nothing too extreme, but enough that Lennox knows the Flash is onto him. That or he’s much dumber than I thought...”  
Bruce nodded and bit his tongue to keep himself from launching into a lecture on tactics, instead he took another bite of his food and a sip of coffee. “I was able to catch some of your interview.”

Wally paused mid-bite, “Oh?”

Bruce nodded, “I had paperwork downtown and managed to catch the last few minutes.”

"I didn’t know you could get the Central City News here.”  
Bruce smirked, draining the last of his coffee. He got up and poured himself a second cup, grabbing a second much and loading it up with cream and sugar. He slid it in front of Wally and sat back down, smirk still in place, “One of the benefits of being me.”

"It wasn’t very exciting.” Wally mumbled, taking a bite of his pancake, the last morsels of food now gone from his plate. A second plate slid in front of him just as he finished the bite, the speedster smiled at Alfred.

Bruce hesitated, not quite sure how to ask what he wanted. “How did he react to your statement to the press?”

Wally shrugged, “I didn’t pay enough attention to him afterwards. I didn’t want to hang around. I really don't know what I would have done if I’d had to be around him longer.”

“Is it going to cause problems for you in Central?”

Wally took a bite, shaking his head while he swallowed his food, “Nah. It shouldn’t be anything–ow!”

A thump sounded under the table, Dick looking at his plate instead of the glare Wally shot him. Wally ignored the acrobat and looked at Bruce, “It will be fine. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Bruce ignored the kick under the table for now, and nodded. He drained the rest of his coffee and ate the last of the pancakes in relative silence. Wally finished two more plates of food before the others had even thought about seconds. They all thanked Alfred, trying to get the older man to let them clean up, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“I fear for my dishware.” They all groaned and left him alone, knowing they’d never hear the end of it if they tried staging coup.

Bruce headed towards his bedroom, intent on getting a few hours sleep. He heard Dick stumble down to the rec room, which left the soft footsteps behind him to be– “Wally?”

“Yeah?” Wally stopped, watching Bruce look back at him.

“I would love to have you right here and now, but I need a few hours–”

Wally suddenly appeared in front of Bruce, the older man growled because he knew Wally knew he hated it when he did that. Wally placed a finger on Bruce’s lips, replacing it softly with his lips. He leaned back, green eyes hooded as he looked into Bruce’s tired blue ones.

“Can I join you?” Wally asked, vulnerability there in his eyes.

Bruce looked down at his lover, “Didn’t you just get up?”

“I didn’t sleep well.”

“Blake?” Bruce whispered.

Wally shook his head, “No.”

“Are you–?”

Wally kissed him again, pulling back with a shy smile. “I couldn’t sleep because you weren’t there.”

Bruce blinked and realized that he knew exactly what Wally was talking about. “Oh.”

Wally moved back, “It’s okay though if you need to have alone time–”

Bruce gripped Wally tighter in his arms and kissed his lips, intention in his touch. “Stay.”

Wally relaxed and nodded, Bruce releasing his grip to grab Wally’s hand and pull him along to the bedroom. Only when they were both under the covers, Wally snuggled on Bruce’s chest and Bruce holding Wally close, did they both fall asleep. For the first time in hours, both able to breathe easy knowing the other would keep them safe.


	6. The Simplest Answer Is Usually Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I know it has been a LOOOONG time since I last updated and I was sure I would do it a long time ago...but I didn't. Life is funny that way. So, I'm sorry I haven't posted an update in a while and I do have every intention of finishing this story. In fact I have the next few updates almost done. Thank you so much for your comments and kudos. They mean the world.
> 
> Without further ado...chapter 6.

Wally woke up before Bruce, a rare occurrence in their lives, but the dark circles under Bruce’s eyes showed the speedster just how exhausted Bruce was. He looked at the relaxed set of his lover’s face, the brooding hero seemed so much younger in his sleep. It made Wally sad seeing how Bruce rarely got enough of it.

Wally carefully rolled out of Bruce’s arms and jumped out of bed at speed, trying his best not to disrupt one of the few moments of sleep Bruce got. With a yawn, the speedster walked to the end of the bed, grabbed his robe and dashed into the bathroom. He stepped onto the cool, white marble floor of the bathroom into the massive walk-in shower which was one of his favorite things here at Wayne Manor. The size of the shower was equal to half of his entire apartment in Central City. He turned on the hot water and let the room fill with steam, the water’s spray washing away his fears and worries long enough for him to take a shower. It only lasted a few minutes.   
He walked out of the shower and wrapped a white towel around his waist just as his “Getting Jiggy with It” ringtone played from the bedroom. He quickly grabbed the phone, running back into the bathroom to answer it when he saw Bruce turn in bed. He sighed when Bruce didn’t stir again and went into the walk-in closet, looking at the caller ID.

“This is Wally.”

“Hey Wally, it’s Glen.”

Wally laughed, the ME was notoriously socially awkward, “I know, Glen. I have caller ID.”

“Oh, right…” There was a pause on the other end, “Um...listen. I need you to come down to the morgue.”

Wally frowned, “Everything okay with Blake?”

Another pause, “Um...yeah. Everything is cool.”

Wally blinked, not sure he'd heard the man correctly, “Everything is cool..?”

“Yeah.” Another pause, “Can you come down here, there’s something I think you should—” A sudden click interrupted Glen mid-sentence, the silence quickly replaced with the Central City Hospital’s call waiting message. Wally stood listening to the music, not quite sure what was happening anymore. The Music kept going for few moments, interrupted. by a female voice listing the options for various departments in the hospital. A sudden end came and Glen’s voice came back through the phone, stiffer than before.

“Yes, sorry about that Mr. West. If you would come down to the city morgue, there’s some paperwork for you to sign.”

Wally looked at the phone, double checking that the caller ID hadn’t changed. “Are you okay, Glen?”

“Yes, of course.”

Wally felt something twist in his gut, something wasn’t right. His instincts were screaming at him that he needed to get to Central City Morgue. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He hung up and dressed quickly, putting the suit he’d worn yesterday back on seeing as he’d used the last spare he kept at the Manor. He walked out into the bedroom and saw Bruce still sleeping and smiled wistfully at the soft bed. He hated to go, but he kissed Bruce’s dark hair softly and ran out the door, saying goodbye to Alfred as he whisked down the steps and down the winding drive towards Central City.

Glen calling him rather than the lead detective made Wally nervous, his fears pushed him to run faster until he slid to a stop a block from the hospital.

He changed out of his Flash suit and into a spare set of street clothes he kept near the precinct, jeans and a t-shirt underneath a button down shirt. He still felt the sense of urgency as he pushed through the double doors to the basement level lab, the cold air, bitter with disinfectant and the smell of generic hand sanitizer. He saw Dr. Hammond, the man pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he fidgeted at the far end of the room by the autopsy table.

“Okay Glen, I’m here–” Wally slowed when he realized the ME wasn’t alone, the recognition so swift Wally stopped dead in his tracks.

“Ah, Mr. West, I’m so glad you could join us.”

Wally swallowed, reminding himself to breathe. He nodded, and realized he was being offered a hand by the other man in the room. Glen just stood there, fidgeting by the observation table.  
Wally looked down at the perfectly manicured hand extended towards him and fought every instinct in his body that told him to recoil from the grey eyes staring at him. Wally gripped the hand tightly, the well-groomed hand leading up the sleeve of an impeccably tailored suit to a practiced smile, teeth white and charming. Wally wanted to hurl.

"We’ve never been formally introduced, my name is–”

“Victor Lennox.” Wally returned the handshake, reminding himself that throwing Victor Lennox through the nearest wall would be bad. “I know who you are.”

Lennox smiled, a touch of something in his eyes as he chuckled and took a step back, adjusting his cuffs, “Yes, Mr. West, I’m sure you do.” Lennox looked back and gestured to Dr. Hammond, the man looking ready to bolt, “I was just speaking with Dr. Hammond here about Detective Hayes–”

Wally’s head shot to the ME, eyes shocked until he turned back to Lennox, “It’s an open investigation, Mr. Lennox. Only law enforcement and next of kin can be given details about the deceased.” Wally said coldly, eyes silently asking Glen if he’d given the man any information. By the look on the doctor’s face, he guessed he had.

“Yes, well–” Lennox drawled looking back at the doctor with a wolfish grin, “I think we can all agree Detective Hayes was a hero to the community and as such I wanted to offer my assistance.”  
Wally’s spine stiffened, his eyes boring a hole into Hammond’s forehead as the ME busied himself sorting papers on the lab table. Wally looked back at Lennox, “I can assure you that we’re doing all we can, sir.” He spat the word out of his mouth,

“The CCPD is one of the finest police departments in the country.”

Lennox nodded, “Of course, I mean no disrespect. But a man of my social standing, financial background, and my connections in the city, I felt I had an obligation to the detective to offer my help. In any way that I could.” The cold grey eyes found Dr. Hammond, an edge in his smile, “The doctor mentioned you were his next of kin so I thought it best for him to ask you here so I could extend the same offer to you in person.” Lennox paused, voice colder, “I did try to reach you by phone.”

Wally wanted to punch him, “I’ve been otherwise occupied.”

"Yes, of course.”

Glen cleared his throat from the table and cautiously edged around it, “As you can see, Mr. Lennox, Mr. West and the CCPD have the matter well in hand.”

“Yes, Mr. Lennox,” Wally smiled, eyes hard, “But I’ll take note of your interest.”

Lennox chuckled, hands going in his pockets, “I’m sure you will.” He flashed his pearly whites at the medical examiner and Wally, “If there’s anything I can do–”

“There isn’t.”

Lennox sighed and walked to the door, donning a pair of sunglasses as he strolled out the door, phone in hand like it was any other day at the office. “If you change your mind, give me a call.” He smiled, “I left my number with the good doctor.” He waved, opening the door wildly, “Until next time.”

Lennox sauntered out the door, looking like man without a care in this world or the next. Wally waited until he was long gone before he whirled and glared at Glen. The ME shuddered, “That man gives me the creeps.”

“What the hell, Glen?!”

“He backed me into a corner, Wally!” the wispy man stammered, “The only way I could think to get him to stop asking questions was to tell him you were the next of kin and I couldn’t release any information without your approval.”

Wally stopped, “He actually came down here in person to ask you for information?”

The medical examiner nodded, “Yeah, and he never said it outright, but I’m pretty sure I could have named my price and he would have paid it.”

“He’s too smart for that.” Wally felt a spark of hope flare in his chest, “The fact that he would come down here himself means he’s nervous about something. What did he want to know?”

Glen rushed back to the small, metal desk in the corner of the room and grabbed a slim, blue case file and handed it to Wally, “He wanted to know the official cause of death.”

“I was there, Glen.” Wally opened the file, he ignored Blake’s smiling face in the ID photo and went straight to the reports, “It was a suicide.” His voice grew hoarse at the memory.

“But that’s just it, Wally.” Glen hurried back over to his desk, pulling a lanyard from under his scrubs and inserted a key into the top drawer. He pulled out another folder, this one left unmarked, but thick with papers.   
Wally took it from him and read the contents, “These are all the ME reports and tox screen results from the overdose cases. I’ve seen all of these already. I ran the majority of these tests myself.”

Glen shook his head pointing at the sheet on top, “Not all of them.”

Wally frowned, reading the paper labeled John Doe 3. Wally looked back at the ME, “Why do you have all these? Most of these cases closed months ago.”

Glen shook his head, “Many didn't.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Wally flipped through the dozens of pages, more information in his hands than what had been in the original files, “Where did you get all of this?”

Glen stopped and stared at Wally, “I made copies of the original documents, the rest is my own clinical analysis and research.”

Wally balked at the magnitude of information, “Why?”

The ME looked sad, “Someone has to fight for them. I saw their destroyed bodies and I can’t just stamp remains open on their file and ignore them. I know too much to let their deaths slip away unnoticed.” Wally stood quietly as Glen spoke about the victims, he had felt the same way about some of his cases, though he could close a file and shut the drawer. Glen had the actual people to contend with, the last will and testament inside the person’s body that held the clues to how they died. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. Dr. Hammond scratched his chin and gestured to the stack of papers again, “They’re currently categorized by symptomatic drug usage. Cases similar to heroin use are in one section, cocaine in another, and so on. All in all there are twenty-one names there. But, there are nine that don’t fit the bill, including John Doe 3. Those nine didn’t fit any of the categories.”

Wally swallowed, not sure where to look as the feeling of unease rose in his chest, “Nine?”

Glen nodded, “Most of them have been unclaimed, the latest to fall into the pile is John Doe 3.”

Wally frowned and looked down at the top sheets, “Was there another victim?” He read the list of abnormalities John Doe 3’s file and stopped. He looked at the doctor, “This can’t be right.”

Glen nodded, “I checked it myself. Twice. Those are the signs of trauma that I catalogued in the victim.”

Wally set the pages down on the morgue table in front of him and stared at the list, “This says he was all over the place. Heroin, hallucinogens, and coke. Pale foam in back of the throat...”

“Yes,” Glen spoke as he hurried over to the wall of doors, the cold slabs where the bodies being autopsied were stored, “the latest victim didn’t foam at the mouth, because he didn’t get a chance. Same with the other eight.” He opened the door labeled DOE 3 and pulled out the drawer a few feet. Wally walked over to the sheet covered body and waited.

He should have known.

Glen folded the sheet down passed the victim’s shoulders and Wally had to keep from running the the nearest trash can. The ME looked like the reveal was more painful than he had wanted it to be, “Blake Hayes is John Doe 3, Wally.”

Wally shook his head and staggered back as he searched Glen for some sign that he was lying. Glen nodded, his eyes telling Wally he wished it wasn’t the case, “Blake’s test swabs of the foam and nasal mucus showed trace amounts of garnet. Just like the other overdoses.”

“But Blake didn’t use…” Wally whispered, his voice hoarse. “He drank too much and smoked cigarettes when things got tough, but never–”

Glen sighed, “I know, Wally. I don’t think Blake did drugs.”

“What does–Glen…”

"No,” The doctor spoke softly, “Hear me out, okay?” Wally waited and the man in front of him took that as an invitation to continue, “These eight other bodies all had the same signs of use in their systems, take a look at the third name on the list.”

Wally growled and looked at the file, his eyes wide at the sight of the name, “Livy Edmonson…” Wally looked back up at the ME, his heart pounding.

Glen nodded, “Exactly.” He carefully pulled the sheet back over Blake’s face and leaned on the table, “Wally, I know what Hayes was investigating, I know what he was saying on the ledge that night...I also I don’t think Blake killed himself.”  
Wally’s wanted to speak, but he couldn’t think of anything. The ME looked at Wally, his eyes calm, “I think our drug problem, these eight deaths, and Blake’s death are all connected.” The doctor came around the table, looking around as though someone might be listening, “I think Lennox is behind this, Wally. Livy Edmonson, now Blake? They were murdered and I don’t think they're going to be the last.”

Wally waited for the punchline. It didn’t come. Instead, Wally stared into the face of a resolute man. “Glen, you can’t possibly be serious.”

The ME nodded, “I am.”

“Glen, this isn’t anything that can be taken lightly. Okay?” Wally insisted, trying to make the doctor understand just what he was saying, what he was doing by compiling evidence outside the department. “Lennox is a powerful guy–”

“And he’s killing people!” The ME shouted, hands clenched at his sides. Wally took a step back, he had never seen the man so distraught. Glen was always the cool headed one in the precinct, he saw dead people all the time. 

But right now, Wally was the calm one and he didn’t like it one bit. “Glen, you don’t understand…”  
The doctor waved Wally closer to Blake. Wally had to swallow the bile rising in his throat, but he did as the ME asked and stepped closer to the body of his fried. Gently, Glen pulled the sheet back down and turned Blake’s head showing Wally the back of his friend’s blonde head. “See this?”

Wally leaned forward, looking where Glen pointed, “What?”

The ME grumbled and grabbed a magnifying glass from his desk. He held it over the spot he’d been pointing at and Wally could see a small puncture wound.

“It’s a mark from a fine needle.”

Wally frowned, “I’ve never seen a shooting needle that fine…”

Glen nodded, “That’s because it’s not. Anything else?”

“It’s at the base of his neck.”

Hammond nodded excitedly, “Exactly. I’ve been in the ME’s office for quite a while. You know that, and never in my time have I ever seen someone who shoots up at the base of their skull.”

Glen proceeded to show Wally a few similar puncture wounds, each in an obscure spot. The freshest one being on the detective’s lower back.

“None of these locations are typical places for drugs to enter the system. But they aren’t exactly out of the realm of being a possibility if you wanted to keep your habit a secret. So I looked at the other two bodies we have that are on the list. They had the same needle marks, but not as many as Blake. I went back and saw I’d noted similar needle marks on four of the other bodies.” He let out an exaperated sigh, “The earlier ones don’t have those notes, but I have no doubt I missed them because I wasn’t looking until after Livy Edmonson.”

“You didn’t know, doc.” Wally said, his head still rolling with all of the information.

Glen smiled sadly at him, “I know. But it never gets any easier when you miss something. But those bodies also had marks in their forearms, so no one looked anywhere else after they saw the typical signs of drug addiction.” The ME looked perturbed, “Again, I didn’t look closer either.”

“C’mon Glen. Why would you?” Wally said, “We thought the deaths were drug related, because they showed the signs. What made you look again?”

Glen set Blake’s head back carefully, zipped the bag and closed the drawer. He hurried to where Wally had left the unlabeled file. He spread them out and set them next to each other. “All of these cases were clear drug related deaths because they all showed the textbook signs of drug use, including track marks, puncture wounds, and etcetera.”  
Wally nodded, “Yeah, so?”

“So,” Glen continued, pulling out three files and Blake's, “These three were not as obvious until we tested them for it. Their bodies don’t show the usual wear and tear that consistent users have over time and they were declared overdoses only after we ran the tox screens and saw the similarities in the tests from the previous cases. Plus they had the same pale green residue in their mouths.”

Wally felt his stomach clench, “Like Blake.”

“And Livy Edmonson.” Glen handed the three sets of papers to the speedster, “You start with these four, they may take you straight to Lennox.”

Wally grabbed the files, face a mask of concern and anger, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. Now that the League could be looking into Lennox in connection to the kryptonite shipments, it could become difficult to zero in on Lennox as a suspect for anything outside of that. He loved the League, they were his family, but the Justice League could bully its way into city jurisdictions by saying “it’s intergalactical security.” He’d said it on more than one occasion. The last thing he needed were a bunch of overprotective babysitters.

“I’ll look into it.” Wally tucked the file under his jacket and smiled, the ME visibly relaxing.

“He can’t get away with it, Wally.” Wally stilled, but the ME didn’t notice. “I performed Livy Edmonson’s autopsy. I’ve performed all of these autopsies. If Lennox is responsible, he has to be brought to justice.”

Wally smiled, ready to declare his vow to do that, but the look in Glen’s eyes stopped him, “I mean it. Powerful people like Lennox get a pass. They get to manipulate people they view as lesser humans to further their own personal gain. Anyone who treats people like cattle, like experiments, deserves what they do to their victims tenfold. I’ve seen it too many times, not just here. People like Lennox, Lex Luthor, and rich guys like your friend Bruce Wayne get a free pass.”

Wally felt his heart skip, the idea of Bruce in the same category as Lennox and Luthor made him see red, “Now, wait. That’s not–”

"Fair?" Glen laughed, but it was hollow, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I don’t know what Bruce Wayne is to you, Wally, but don’t let him fool you. People like us don’t get to be around people like them for very long before we get tossed in the gutter.”

Wally frowned, “Bruce isn’’t like that. You need to stop before you say something you regret.”

Glen sighed, “I’m sorry Wally, you’re right. But I’ve heard rumors, my brother-in-law works for the manufacturing plant outside the city limits. Lennox owns the building and he’s seen Lex Luthor come and go more than once.” Wally felt his gut clench at the truth there, but he didn't want Glen to put too many dots together. He trusted him, but he wasn't sure if he trusted him that much. “Anywhere Lex Luthor goes, Superman follows and the League right after him. If they get Lennox on charges connected to whatever Luthor’s up to, or work out some kind of deal? We won't stand a chance charging him for these murders.”

"We don't know that's what this is, Glen. And I've never known the Justice League to let us down.”

Glen frowned, “I guess.” He paused, “I just don't want him to get away with it.”

Wally sighed and walked closer to his friend, “ I know, that's why we have to do it right.”

Glen frowned but there was a keen spark in the doctor’s eyes. “I can't do much from where I am, I've pretty much done all I can do, but you have the power to make it right.”

The way Glen was looking at him, the way he said it made Wally nervous, “I’m just a forensic scientist.”

Glen laughed, a true, soft smile on his face, “Yeah, so was your uncle.” The ME looked at Wally, affection and sorrow mixed in his expression, “You really are so much like him, in the best ways. He was my friend, Blake was my friend, and so are you.”

Wally smiled and nodded, “You’re my friend too Glen.”

The ME smiled, “You can do what I can’t. Just promise me something.”

Wally tucked the coat tighter, aware of what he had been given, “Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

The weight of the file in his coat grew heavier. Wally left the morgue before he changed his mind, Glen had made up his about helping him even though it would be risky. He wasn’t going to let him down.


	7. Pinky Swears and Pixie Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! It has been a HOT MINUTE since I posted/updated on this fic... whoops. But, I am back again and ready for action! Thank you for reading!

Wally walked the four blocks to the CCPD Main Precinct, his lab was there and even though he was on bereavement leave to handle Blake’s affairs, people wouldn't ask too many questions. It was a brisk walk, the morning sky clouding over in a color that looked like rain. Wally just tucked his jacket in tighter and moved along the sidewalk, ignoring the odd passerby as he walked.

It didn’t take long for the rain to start, the droplets slow at first until they rested at a slow drizzle. He stopped. He could see the precinct, but he was distracted by the shadow of the tall building not far behind it. It had only been a few days, but he still didn’t think it would hurt this much. Blake had been the best friend he’d had outside of all the hero stuff, and even though Glen seemed convinced there was foul play, Wally still felt like he should have seen the signs. If what Glen had said was true: why hand’t he seen it?

Wally sighed and continued on to the building, taking the front steps up to the precinct two at a time, nodding as people called out greeting and ignored the pitying glances. He made it to the lab without much fuss and logged onto the computer, immediately going into the mainframe and hacking the security cameras, recording a bit of time loop of the room before he entered. He typed a few things, printed off a slip and then grabbed the sheet and walked out of the room, knowing the timer he’d set would start the loop right after he left, giving the illusion he’d come in briefly and left.

Sometimes it paid to have a master hacker as a best friend.

After a few moments, Wally walked back in, checking to make sure he was in the clear and then sat down. He pulled out the file and spread the sheets of notes and reports on the table next to him.

_Harold Richter_

_Oliver Eubard_

_George Torres_

The three names that were different from the rest. Wally sighed and pulled up their files from the database, he was surprised just how much more information Glen had than CCPD. The doctor had done his homework, but the detective assigned the case had done her due diligence.

Detective Nora Lee, Wally had worked with her for a couple years and he knew she was a solid cop. She had also been Blake’s most recent partner. People had not usually lasted long in the role due to his inability to sit still or do as he was told. Nora had been different, the only person besides Wally that could tell him to “shut up and sit down” and he would actually do it.

Or..at least he did.

Past tense. Because Blake was dead.

Wally felt the pit in his stomach grow, but he shook his head, and turned back to the computer screen. Harold Richter had been a real estate agent, though the term was used lightly as his record of fraud accusations and civil suits were a mile long. It seemed Harold was a bit of a career criminal, but he catered to those with million dollar price tags. It seemed feasible that he’d screwed Lennox out of money and the billionaire had returned the favor by killing him. Eubard had been a money man, not a stretch to see the possible connections there.

George Torres, however, didn’t make any sense. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair, the tufts sticking up at odd angles.

“What are you doing there?”

Wally nearly jumped out of his skin, his head snapped up to see a woman leaning in the doorway, the sleeves of her grey blazer rolled up over her collared shirt. Her brown hair was cropped into a tousled pixie, a close undercut giving her an edge people paid attention to, tattoos peeked out from her sleeves leading into what Wally knew way a detailed sleeve all the way to her collar bone. Her blue eyes found his and her nose wrinkled, making the double rings in her nose sparkle, a thing the higher ups ignored because of her record. Her mouth twitched at his guilty look and she sauntered in the room, “I don’t remember seeing your name on the call list today.”

Wally rolled his eyes and looked back at the computer, “Jeez, Nora. You’re gonna give a guy a heart attack doing that!”

She laughed and walked further into the room, he’d already pulled up the dummy tab he had for such an occasion as this and she got a good look at the benefits page for fallen officers.

And the massive pile of files next to his elbow.

Her eyes narrowed on the stack of papers beside him and Wally cursed, he grabbed them up and tucked them in the Manila folder. “I’d really love to chat, Nor, but I’m just stopping by.”

Lee stared him down, Wally unflinching when she turned and looked outta the hall before sliding the folder she had on the table, “Reese at the desk told me you were in here, and I wanted to talk to you. See how you were.”

“Like I said,” He quipped, “Just stopping in, and I’m fine.”

She looked back, her eyes softened for a moment but they quickly found their spark, “I know this has to be tough on you, but I just wanted to make sure you weren’t handling it alone.”

Wally felt his tension relax a bit, he nodded, “I’ve been staying with Bruce.”

She nodded back, the silence extending into uncomfortable territory. Wally tapped on the table, casually scrolling through the webpage until her soft voice caught his attention, “What are you doing here, Wally?”

Wally felt his mouth dry up. He’d never been good at lying to her. “I’m checking up on what else I need to do so that the benefits–”

She held up her hand, Wally’s words dying in his throat. Nora looked at him, no sympathy there, simply empathy. “It’s not an accusation. It’s an offer.”

“Nora…”

“No.” She spat, teeth grinding as her jaw tensed, “He was my friend, my partner. I want that bastard in jail as much as anyone.”

Wally stared at her, searching, “Who?”

Nora laughed, the sound hollow, “You know who, Wally.”

Wally shook his head, “I’m not about to get you jammed up, Nor.”

“I don’t care!” She shouted, catching herself and quickly shutting the door. “You’re going after Victor Lennox. I know it and I want in.”

She shoved the file on the table closer to him, his brow furrowed, but he took the offering. He opened the folder and felt his heart quicken, his eyes darted to Nora’s, “You know you shouldn't be giving me this.”

She shrugged, “Giving you what?”

“Nora…”

“I made copies.” She cut him off, shoulders tense, Wally could see the exhaustion starting to eat at her. The detective leaned against the table, “I have copies of the _official_ record, but these are his originals.”

The paper in his hands suddenly felt much heavier. He set the pile down and flipped through the pages, notes filled the margins of the reports and files, several pages of handwritten notes in between the official documents. He looked at the detective, eyebrow raised, “All of this is in the public record?”

“No. He didn’t want the things he was finding to show up in the public record yet. Most of what he’d found, he hadn’t filed.”

“Does the Captain know about this?” She shook her head, Wally swallowed and closed the folder, “Okay. Do you have copies of his notes?”

Again she shook her head. “Until we know for sure, you and I are the only ones who know. Even I haven’t read everything he’d dug up, and Wally, if even half of what he said was true?” She said, her eyes pinned Wally in place, “Victor Lennox is a very bad man, Wally. And he needs to go away for a long time.” Wally nodded, “I don’t want to submit this until we’re certain. There’s no need for his reputation to be tarnished any more than it is.”

Wally stopped, “What do you mean?”

Nora stared at the door, shoulders tense, “Not everyone believes that Lennox is dirty. Blake was having a hard time getting warrants and cooperation to investigate him in the Edmonson case. Now…”

“They just think he was just crazy.” Wally whispered. “Which is exactly what Lennox would want.”

Nora turned back to him, her eyes were like embers filled with rage and purpose, “What I’m about to ask you is going to make me sound crazier.”

“What?” She didn’t say anything so Wally pushed, “If it’s going to help bring Lennox down, I’m in, Nor.”

“Glen told me about Lennox’s visit to the morgue today.”

“He was just trying to get information.”

Nora nodded, “I think you should let him.”

Wally blinked, “Excuse me?”

“I want you to let him in. Give him enough to give us an advantage, give him what we want him to know.”

“ _We_?” Wally said, the words stumbling from his tongue, “Who’s _we_?”

“Blake wasn’t playing around. He really believed the evidence he had found was going to put Lennox away fro a long time, his team was already in place before he died. We had every intention of opening the official investigation as soon as he had this last piece of evidence he kept talking about.” She stared at the file, “He never got to tell us what it was, but we’re going ahead with it anyway. Damn the consequences.”

“You could get fired.”

Nora shrugged, “So could you for being in here investigating a case you’ve been strictly ordered to stay away from.”

Wally stayed silent as a slideshow of every possible ramifications raced through his brain. One of the downfalls of having a hyperactive imagination at hyper speed. He heard his phone buzz next to him, he ignored it and kept pushing, “Lennox won’t go for it. I didn’t exactly welcome him with open arms in the morgue.”

Nora pursed her lips, “Well, you’re the only one who can do it. Besides, I think you’ve got the acting chops to convince him. You’ve been undercover before.”

Wally rolled his eyes, “That was years ago.”

“Wally.” She stopped and her eyes told him everything he needed to know before she said it, “We’re running out of options. This is the best we have right now.”

Wally opened his mouth to answer, but his phone buzzed again, catching his eye. He tapped the screen, the alert showing “B” as the sender.

Bruce. If he did this, he was going to have to keep it from him. Bruce would lose his mind, so would Dick, but he’d have to have someone in on it and he’d helped Dick too many times for his oldest friend not to keep his mouth shut.

Wally picked up his phone, sending a text and putting his phone on the desk.

Nora glanced at the screen, brow furrowed, “Bird call?”

Wally quickly blackened the screen, “If I’m doing this, I’m bringing in a partner.”

Nora looked for a moment like she’d argue, but he shook his head. “Non-negotiable.”

She pulled a black cellphone out of her pocket and slid it to him. It was a simple, older model. He caught it and skimmed through the contents.

“It’s a burner. I have one to match and my number is the only one programmed into it. I pulled it from evidence from one of the closed RICO cases, so no one will miss it or think to look for it.” She looked at him, her eyes soft, “We’re in this alone, with little resources. Most people will think we’re crazy.”

Wally chuckled, tucking his phone and the burner into his pocket before gathering up the files on the table. He started walking towards the door, but stoped, “Didn’t you know, Nora? Only the best people are.”

*****

He made quick time getting back to his apartment. He wasn't surprised to find the door unlocked or a stack of pizzas on the counter. Or his best friend, mask tossed on the sofa next to him, lounged across the cushions playing the latest shooter game Wally had gotten for his Xbox.

“Hey.” Dick said without taking his eyes from the screen, shoving another piece of pizza into his mouth.

Wally sighed and tossed his keys on the counter, grabbing a pizza from the pile before plopping with a huff on the couch. They sat in companionable silence like that for a while, both eating their pizza with the occasional comment on strategy from Wally to Dick who just snorted and did what he wanted anyway.

Finally, the screen flashed red, screaming that Dick had lost. The acrobat just placed the controller on the coffee table and turned to stare at his best friend as he finished chewing the last bite of the second pizza he’d eaten by himself.

Wally swallowed, “What?”

“Are you going to tell me what this is about or am I gonna have to guess?”

Wally sighed and tossed the empty pizza box on top of the other one, crossing to the counter where he’d put his jacket and the files. He tossed the folders on the coffee table in front of Dick and the man started reading, his eyebrows lowering with every sentence. “Wally…what is this?”

“First, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you, and secondly I need your help to do it.”

Dick set the pages down and frowned, eyes darting from Wally to the folders to the scribbled notes, then back to Wally’s hard stare. He held out his right hand, pinky extended, “Absent threat of death or severe harm, I solemnly swear not to break the promise.”

Wally nodded, quickly grasping the extended pinky with his own, their tried and true promise they’d used since they were eleven and running around the streets of Gotham and Central without telling their mentors what they were doing. “Okay, here it is…”

Wally pointedly ignored the shocked, irritated, and then downright bewildered looks he got as he told Dick his plan. He skipped the part about what Nora had said, not wanting Dick to consider that under their umbrella of “threat of harm.” He didn’t think his best friend would take kindly to him buddying up to Victor Lennox.

Dick sat back in the couch when Wally finished, shoulders slumped and eyes firmly on the folders before he leaned forward and held them up. “And your ME friend—”

“Glen.”

Dick dipped his chin, “Right, Glen. He thinks these three names will help find the link to the drugs and Lennox?”

“Right.”

“But you can’t look into it because—”

“The League thinks Lennox might be supplying kryptonite to Lex Luthor.”

Dick pursed his lips, “And you don’t want them to know you’re investigating him because—”

Wally shrugged, “They’ll just hover and get in the way. I don't need babysitters.”

Dick sighed and slumped further, “Alright, fine—” Wally smiled and opened his mouth to thank his friend, but Dick held up a gloved hand, “but the second I think you're in too deep, I _will_ bring Bruce in on this. Understood?

Wally nodded, “Understood.”

Dick stood, taking the files with him in his bag he had set in the corner and putting his mask firmly back in place, “I will see what I can dig up, but in the mean time, just do me a favor and just forget about all this for a bit, okay?”

Wally looked at the game screen and smirked, “Okay, worry wart.”

“Good.” Dick slip open the apartment window, “I imagine I will probably see you later this week. Alfred is instituting on a Bat Family dinner and your presence is required.”

Wally smiled at the thought, the dinners were nothing short of eventful and Alfred did cook amazing food. “Okay.”

Dick hopped on the ledge and saluted back, the bag firmly across his back, “It was good never seeing you.”

Wally saluted back, “Good not to see you, too.”

Dick stepped out onto the fire escape, Wally looked at the screen for a moment and when he looked back, his best friend was gone. Vanished into the darkness of the shadows cast by the setting sun.

Wally sat in his quiet apartment for five minutes before the silence started driving him nuts and he decided he would dress and go on patrol a little early today. He put on his suit under his street clothes and tucked his mask in his jacket pocket so he could change a few blocks down to keep his identity a secret. He was pretty sure his neighbors knew who he was and what he did, but none of them complained or commented so he didn't worry about it too much.

He braced himself for the settling chill that had been building in the air as fall came into the city, but what he saw instead chilled him to the bone.

Victor Lennox grinned at him from the curb in front of his apartment building, leaning against the hood of what looked like a very expensive sports car, “Hello, Mr. West, would you care to join me for a drink?”


End file.
